Power Line Conditioners, AC Regenerators, Surge Suppressors, and Uninterruptible Power Supplies

Power Protection in the Home Theater

The use of power line conditioners and surge suppressors surely represent an effective insurance policy for your expensive home theater gear, but not only…

Although many realize the need to invest in some sort of power protection, yet there is a lot of misconception surrounding the subject of power protection and power line conditioners.

For many home theater owners, power protection is nothing more than surge suppression - many believe that once they plug one of these devices across the line, all their equipment is totally secure!

However, there is much more you can do to protect your gear and get the most out of it. For example, many are not aware of the beneficial effects that the use of power line conditioners  and AC regenerators has on the performance of audio and video systems.

This comes to no surprise - Unless you really have an idea of what those external connections - AC power, telephone, TV antenna, etc. - are actually feeding into the system, it would be impossible to persuade yourself to spend at least a couple of hundred dollars more, simply to 'clean' the AC line or protect that phone or TV antenna connection.

What follows is a series of articles designed to help you get a better understanding of what power protection in the home theater is all about.

Power protection can be expensive - we show you how to get the best out of your available resources without compromising the safety of your home theater gear.

The Quest for Clean Safe Power

If power protection is one of your main concerns, then you are aware that selecting the most suitable protection gear is not an easy job.

The large selection of power line conditioners, home theater power centers, and even inexpensive surge suppressors presently available on the market, can make the whole selection process rather difficult.

Going for the wrong choice in power protection is surely not an option - it may lead to inadequate protection. Many would soon find at their own expense that inadequate protection might turn out to be nothing more than no protection at all!

The use of dedicated home theater power plants, complete with elaborated AC power line conditioners and protected connections for coaxial aerial TV inputs and phone line/network connections, is the ideal approach.

...but there is an expense to all this which may not always be within your planned home theater budget.

We hope that this series of articles on power protection will prove to be of some assistance to you in getting a better understanding of the various issues related to power protection in the home theater environment.

There is a lot one can do when well informed - and this does not necessarily mean that you have to spend thousands on power protection solutions.

Topics covered range from inexpensive surge suppressors  to the more elaborated power line conditioners and complete home theater power plants. We also investigate the possible use of inexpensive computer grade uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) as part of a possible home theater power protection solution.

Section index:

• Power Clean Up: Why invest in power protection and line conditioning? 

We discuss the problems related to dirty and dangerous AC power. But not only...

AC is not the only external source feeding your gear - there are other sources feeding your equipment and that may have an impact on system performance.

• Surge Suppressors (1) - A first line of defense

Probably, the use of surge suppressors is your best insurance policy to guard expensive electronic gear from damaging voltage spikes and lightning strikes.

We look at the operational principles behind surge suppressors. We also explain the various surge suppressor ratings used to describe the surge protection capabilities of these devices.

• Surge Suppressors (2) - A word of caution

Surge suppressors represent the most common form of power protection - designed properly, surge suppressors will work over and over again, but...

Do not take surge suppressors for granted - we discuss a number of important issues one should be aware of when working with surge  protection devices.

• How-it-Works: Power Line Conditioners

Protection can range from the simple filtering of radio frequency interference (RFI) and electron-magnetic (EMI) generated noise, to surge suppression, AC power line conditioners, and AC regeneration. 

We discuss the different power protection solutions as used in power line conditioners, together with the pros and cons of each. It is one thing if you are after power protection alone, and another if you want to get the best out of your cutting-edge audio and video home theater set-up. 

• Using computer-grade Uninterruptible Power Supplies as part of a  home theater power protection solution

Is it possible to make use of inexpensive computer grade uninterruptible power supplies as part of a power protection solution in the home theater?

The purist in home audio and video would surely discard such a preposition ...but what if budget is an issue? Discover more in this article.

• Your 'Power Protection' check-list

To help you in the process of selecting the right power protection gear for your application, we have prepared a 'what to look for guide' when planning your purchase. 

Included under this section, you will also find a 'before-you-buy check-list' that should further assist you in the process.

• Affordable Power Protection Solutions

We have put together a vast selection of power protection gear from major suppliers at our Online Store.

Products range from small inexpensive  power protection strips, reasonably priced UPS, and complete home theater power centers for improved system performance.

For our full range of uninterruptible power supplies, please check also here: Uninterruptible Power Supplies

For an excerpt from this series of articles on Power Protection in the Home Theater, you may also check our article published in the April 2005 issue of the Home-Toys E-Magazine.

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Last updated on: 20th February 2005

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