How Ordinary Surge Protectors Work

Ordinary surge protectors (and Uninterruptible Power Supplies) simply divert harmful surge energy from the hot line to the neutral and ground wires in a process usually described as "all 3 modes of protection". The hot line is the only source of dangerous external surges since the neutral and ground are bonded together and fastened lo an earth rod at every service entrance. Unfortunately, this "3 mode protection" process diverts high-energy powerline surges directly into reference grounds in audio/video systems and delicate, low voltage datalines in computers. Computer datalines are particularly vulnerable because they use the powerline ground circuit for their reference voltage.

Sensitive electronic equipment should never use ordinary surge protectors, which divert surges to the powerline ground, because this will increase the likelihood of damage.