Surge protector question need help.

[alex.tsakiris1996]

I live in Europe and i'm thinking of buying this surge protector from APC here http://www.apc.com/shop/gr/en/products/APC-Essential-SurgeArrest-8-outlets-230V-Germany/P-PM8-GR , the surge protector seems really good but there are few things that bothers me.

1) if you scroll a little bit down and go at the "Technical Specifications" there's it's specs and it says "Nominal input Voltage : 230V" and some lines down it says "Input power of 2300.0 Watts" the question is whats the deal with the *input power of 2300Watts*? That means that the surge protector is drawing 2300Watts to work or something or it is it's max power that can handle if i put on it my desktop,router,screen and many more electrical devices? Because you know if it needs 2300W to only work this guy plus the components that i plug onto it my bill will skyrocket.

2)What's the nominal input of 230V?

3)And lastly how much power the surge protector will draw from the wall? It will draw as much as the components on it needs?

Thanks guys.

 

[icraft]

The 2300w means that it can draw up to 2300w from the wall, to distribute to all the outlets it has. The nominal input voltage is 230v because that is the voltage standard for the UK, and the rest of Europe is lower at 220v. The surge protector will draw as much as everything plugged into it plus a tiny amount, maybe 1%.

 

[CaptainCretin]

2300Watts is how much power that can safely go through the device; so the total maximum power of everything plugged into it should not be higher - ie, dont plug 2 x 2KW heaters into it.

The device itself will draw a few 100ths of a watt for the power on indicator.

Nominal voltage is the average expected voltage, EU regs give a +/- of 10%, so this is guaranteed to work from 207volts to 253volts. EU countries run from 220volts to 240volts.

Surge protectors degrade over time, so you will need to think about changing it every 3-4 years; it will still work as an extension lead beyond that, but it may not protect you from voltage spikes.

I am a qualified electrician btw.

 

[alex.tsakiris1996]

So i'll be fine if i don't surpass the 2300W by plugging in really power hungry machines like heaters etc. I plan using it only for my new desktop,the screen and maybe the router so i hope it'll be fine. One question though,because my house (not mine,with rent) has 3 outlets, the one in the kitchen is the buffed one (newer) and i can plug my devices without adapter,the other 2 in my room they seem old and i have to use an adapter and then plug any device to it. The question is it's good idea to use an adapter to my surge protector and then plug it in the outlet or should i change it with a new outlet that has the same "form" as the new devices?And if i use adapter should i buy one with high wattage durance because he might get burned if my pc draws more than the adapter supports? What should i do? Thanks for your help though.

 

[alex.tsakiris1996]

2300Watts is how much power that can safely go through the device; so the total maximum power of everything plugged into it should not be higher - ie, dont plug 2 x 2KW heaters into it.

The device itself will draw a few 100ths of a watt for the power on indicator.

Nominal voltage is the average expected voltage, EU regs give a +/- of 10%, so this is guaranteed to work from 207volts to 253volts. EU countries run from 220volts to 240volts.

Surge protectors degrade over time, so you will need to think about changing it every 3-4 years; it will still work as an extension lead beyond that, but it may not protect you from voltage spikes.

I am a qualified electrician btw.

So i'll be fine if i don't surpass the 2300W by plugging in really power hungry machines like heaters etc. I plan using it only for my new desktop,the screen and maybe the router so i hope it'll be fine. One question though,because my house (not mine,with rent) has 3 outlets, the one in the kitchen is the buffed one (newer) and i can plug my devices without adapter,the other 2 in my room they seem old and i have to use an adapter and then plug any device to it. The question is it's good idea to use an adapter to my surge protector and then plug it in the outlet or should i change it with a new outlet that has the same "form" as the new devices?And if i use adapter should i buy one with high wattage durance because he might get burned if my pc draws more than the adapter supports? What should i do? Thanks for your help though.

 

[CaptainCretin]

So i'll be fine if i don't surpass the 2300W by plugging in really power hungry machines like heaters etc. I plan using it only for my new desktop,the screen and maybe the router so i hope it'll be fine. One question though,because my house (not mine,with rent) has 3 outlets, the one in the kitchen is the buffed one (newer) and i can plug my devices without adapter,the other 2 in my room they seem old and i have to use an adapter and then plug any device to it. The question is it's good idea to use an adapter to my surge protector and then plug it in the outlet or should i change it with a new outlet that has the same "form" as the new devices?And if i use adapter should i buy one with high wattage durance because he might get burned if my pc draws more than the adapter supports? What should i do? Thanks for your help though.

 

[CaptainCretin]

Check with the landlord before changing a socket; they may have rules that only a qualified person can do it.

Changing the socket is the best solution; a new socket should also meet modern safety regulations.

I dont like adapters, many are badly made; if you cannot change the socket, I would change the plug on the surge protector to fit the socket.

 

[alex.tsakiris1996]

By landlord you mean the owner of the house right? 😀 if so then i will tell him that i'm gonna change the outlet if i have to.Also changing the outlet isn't simply changing the form? I mean the electrical expert doesn't have to put extra cables and stuff but to put them in the new outlet.

 

[CaptainCretin]

By landlord you mean the owner of the house right? 😀 if so then i will tell him that i'm gonna change the outlet if i have to.Also changing the outlet isn't simply changing the form? I mean the electrical expert doesn't have to put extra cables and stuff but to put them in the new outlet.

Assuming the same voltage, it is either just changing the cover, or replacing the whole unit; both mean switching off the power at the fuse board.

One complication can be the cables being too short to reach the terminals of the new cover/unit; many electricians seem to be very stingy when it comes to leaving any spare length in a cable.

 

[Karadjgne]

Average room circuits are rated 15A. Kitchen, bath, dining room circuits are usually 20A. This accounts for mixers, hairdryers, hotplates and other high amperage draw stuff that's not normally used in bedrooms etc. but still allows the occasional use of monster vacuum cleaners. A hairdryer will run @1200w-1500w. Your average pc has a full draw with monitor of less than 600w, no matter what the actual psu size says. So figure on @3A as an absolute top. That's chump change on a 15A circuit.

The reason for differing outlets is the circuit amperage rating, they don't want you to plug high draw heaters etc into low Amp circuits. In the US a 15A circuit is ll on the plug, a 20A is l- so same idea.

 

[CaptainCretin]

The 2300w means that it can draw up to 2300w from the wall, to distribute to all the outlets it has. The nominal input voltage is 230v because that is the voltage standard for the UK, and the rest of Europe is lower at 220v. The surge protector will draw as much as everything plugged into it plus a tiny amount, maybe 1%.

You are wrong on 2 counts, UK voltage is 240volt, go measure it with a volt meter. This is within the +/- 10% spec for EU voltages, so has never been changed.

Surge protection is done with passive devices, it doesnt draw any power itself, unless there is a surge, where it short circuits the input via a capacitor, resister and inductor array, to stop the surge reaching the output sockets, the only power consumption will be the light that tells you the power is on.

If the surge is too long duration, the capacitor will be destroyed and the device will just short circuit, so need replacing; the capacitor also slowly degrades over time, so even without a voltage spike, the device loses effectiveness over the course of time.

9 times out of 10, if you open up the multi socket, you will find the "surge protector" is a small encapsulated device wired across the input. Back when I fitted these by the thousand to industrial controls, they cost 50p each, but consumer devices containing them had a premium of £5-10 added.

 

[icraft]

Looks like you're right. Declared voltage is 230v though.
https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/etc/guide-voltageoptimisation.php

 

[Karadjgne]

It's all the same. 220/230/240v is the same thing. It's just 2x poles of 120v. It's usually called a 230v standard because that's the middle ground, but equipment as such will generally accept either since there's no guarantees on actual voltage, it all depends on location, age of equipment, tap on the transformer etc. Outlying areas far from the main junctions tend to have 220-230v, much closer to the main junctions tend to have 230-240v. And that's assuming both poles are identical, which they never are, it's quite easy to have one side be 115v and the other 118v for instance, leaving you with a 233v circuit IF there's no actual voltage drop due to wire length inside the house.

 

[CaptainCretin]

It's all the same. 220/230/240v is the same thing. It's just 2x poles of 120v. It's usually called a 230v standard because that's the middle ground, but equipment as such will generally accept either since there's no guarantees on actual voltage, it all depends on location, age of equipment, tap on the transformer etc. Outlying areas far from the main junctions tend to have 220-230v, much closer to the main junctions tend to have 230-240v. And that's assuming both poles are identical, which they never are, it's quite easy to have one side be 115v and the other 118v for instance, leaving you with a 233v circuit IF there's no actual voltage drop due to wire length inside the house.

I am afraid you are also wrong in how the UK and Europe get 240v.

220-240v is single phase to earth. AC means alternating current, so the voltage is a sine wave going from +240v through 0v to -240v and back again. (Its actually higher than that, but we are then getting into technical stuff)

The 230v standard was just a paper exercise to keep politicians happy, no country has altered their voltage.

 

[Karadjgne]

Heh. It's actually 2x sinewaves 30° apart and at UK 50Hz is sufficient to keep a level approaching 115v at both poles, for a difference of 230v, even if single pole would be higher, at say 120v.

But yes, it's basically a paperwork thing, an average that everyone can understand and apply. Not really a physical standard, but an assumed one for convenience.

 

[CaptainCretin]

Sorry, you are still wrong about the voltage; would you care to keep masplaning to a qualified industrial* electrician with two Queens Awards to his name, and equipment installed on Royal Navy nuclear submarines??

* We dont like getting mistaken for that "two way switch" crowd that do domestic wiring.

The ONLY time you will find 240v derived they way you suggest is in a factory, when running off of 2 x 440volt phases; ie to run 240v equipment on a picking crane running on 440v 3 phase supply; something that isnt particularly safe unless done correctly (I've seen it done badly, and people got seriously hurt).

All domestic supplies (with very few exceptions), are run off of a single phase.