MidnightDistort :
Other then the refrigerator, which isn't really sensitive equipment (they just draw more power) none of those devices are sensitive equipment. When was the last time you had to change out the power supply on a refrigerator or an AC unit? By your reasoning PSU's shouldn't be failing at all when hooking up to the wall but plenty get old and fail before the rest of the hardware get's a chance to be upgraded. .
How often do you determine which part inside a power supply failed and why? We had to. Most power supply failures are unrelated to surges. Meanwhile, refrigerator motors and electronics found in refrigerators, stoves, dishwashers, etc also can be damaged (numbers provided later). Why is power from a 'dirty' UPS destructive to refrigerators and ideal for a PSU? This question was asked previously and ignored apparently. You only assume damage must be from a surge. Meanwhile, 'dirtiest' power is often from a UPS in battery backup mode. That can harm motorized appliances. And is ideal to all electronics. Because electronics are more robust.
Surge damage is often not to a PSU - as you only assumed. An adjacent power strip may bypass PSU protection to cause damage to other parts ... such as a modem or NIC. Learn how an adjacent protector can connect a surge directly to a motherboard. That should be obvious to anyone who has assembled a PC.
Apparently you only assume how often destructive surges exist. Maybe once every seven years. Less often in the UK. Why so many PSU failures? Numbers suggest most were manufacturing defects. Everyone knows a classic example. Counterfeit electrolytic capacitors that failed years later demonstrate how most PSUs fail - manufacturing defects. Speculated are surges that do not exist. However that is another urban myth from "How Stuff Works" (HSW). An obvious myth because it is made without numbers.
Unfortunately, your conclusions are based only in observation combined with speculation. Conclusions, without first learning fundamental concepts, is why junk science even promotes power strip protectors. Speculation even denies fires created by grossly undersized protectors (too few joules).
We replaced surge damaged semiconductors to make electronics fully functional. To learn why damage happened. To apply fundamental concepts necessary before making a conclusion. To trace the incoming and outgoing path of that surge current. So that a human mistake that created damage can be corrected.
Denials of house fires contradict reason. Numbers make obvious why grossly undersized power strips have even caused house fires. Protectors that fail catastrophically were only one thermal fuse away from fire. Do you learn from science, numbers, experience, and an engineer who did this stuff? Or is your knowledge only from salesmen, advertising, and "HSW" that avoids discussing fires. Read this:
https://forums.thefirepanel.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=6334
Or this:
http://www.kimbertonfire.org/content/safety/SurgeProtectors.cfm
How can that be when you deny risks only because you feel it must not exist? If you know otherwise, denials include spec numbers and information from datasheets. In fact, MOV manufacturers state why MOVs cause fires with specification numbers; when grossly undersized. Unfortunately, your only source appears to be a bogus and erroneous "HSW". That says you do not know how protectors work, how electricity works, what causes damage, how semiconductors work, and why computers are so robust.
Power strip protectors are effective when used in conjunction with a completely different and properly earthed solution. If not part of that larger system, then power strip protectors have compromised protection inside electronics ... as demontrated by tracing the resulting path from a protector to earth destructively via a network of PCs. We did not learn from "HSW". We literally identified each surge path by replacing destroyed semiconductors. Repeatedly demonstrated damage because that power strip protector was not earthed. The eliminated future damage by using the other and proven solution ... that also costs less money.
Assuming a refrigerator is more robust due to observation or speculation is junk science reasoning. If you know a refrigerator is more robust, then say so with numbers. How large is a surge voltage without damaging a refrigerator? Numbers you must provide for credibility.
Assuming a failed PSU is due to surges was also bogus. Since most PSU failures are due to manufacturing defects. And since destructive surges occur maybe once every seven years. And much less frequently in the UK. Worse, citing "HSW" indicates a recommendation is not backed by fundamental knowledge of what protectors do, what PSUs do, why a power strip can compromise protection already inside electronics, and what averts damage from hundreds of thousands of joules. Again, numbers that must exist and be discussed in a reply.
Again, for the OP:
a UPS claims even less protection than a power strip. Power strip does not claim to protect from typically destructive surges. That solution comes from other and more responsible companies including Keison. Other electrical anomalies require other solutions that are not discussed here.
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