How many joules do I need for adequate protection of a 55"Smart TV, Cable box, Stereo receiver w/CD player? null

Question

Bard · Accepted Answer

Having worked for 25 years in industry as a "Technical Support" technician supporting various electronic devices for Fortune 500 companies, I developed the following guidelines: Line voltage surges are not always a "one-shot" experience, they have an accumulative effect, and result in the premature death of many electronic devices.

1. The surge protector not only protects the devices plugged into it, but it also protects itself from being fried. 
 The joule rating is how much excess energy the device can withstand before frying. Once fried from a surge larger than its joule rating, it no long protects anything. 

2. The joule rating is only half of the protection story. The other rating is the clamping voltage, which is at what over-voltage will the protector begin to work.
 If not listed in the specs, then the seller is probably not proud of the rating.

3. The absolute minimum joule rating that I would suggest would be 2,000 joules. However, for anything really valuable, I would highly suggest 3,000 joules or more. Remember this number is the sum of protection for all three legs, hot to neutral, hot to ground, neutral to ground. So, any one leg is only protected at 1/3 the specified "joule" rating.

4. The "clamping voltage" should be low. It is normally rated in "voltage peak", and should be 330 volts or less. This is the minimum voltage at which protection kicks in! (That's 233 volts RMS, or approximately twice the normal line voltage). 400 volts is marginal and 500 volts is too little, too late.

So, IMO, in summary, shoot for 3,000 joules or higher (energy absorption), and 330 volts or less (clamping voltage)!!!

starwarsfan · Answer

Honestly, it doesn't matter what you have connected to the surge protector. The joule rating is how much energy the surge protector can "absorb" before it sends the remaining energy to your connected devices. In general, the higher the joule rating, the better (it will cost you more). However, know that it is highly unlikely that ANY surge protector will protect in the case of a lightning strike (the amount of energy is just huge). The protection you gain is from the surges that come through your electricity provider. Also note that the joule rating can be thought of as a "bank" of protection, each surge will withdraw some amount from the protection. The lower the "bank" (joule rating), the quicker it will be depleted and the more often you should replace the surge protectors. For fool proof protection against lightning strikes, unplug the surge protector from the wall outlet when not it use (though, the surge could go through the cable line, into the cable box, and into the TV. So I guess not completely fool proof).

Answered by starwarsfan 9 years ago

Northmost · Answer

My name is Todd
I've been electrician since 1969, I'm a licensed journeyman A, have a controller electricians license, is certified in industrial controls, heating ventilation and air-conditioning control systems certification, boiler engineer and I am certified in refrigeration.

After reading the article on surge protection specifically number of joules and clamping voltages. The article I thought was very very good!

I personally can't stress enough the requirements for very good surge protection, the number of joules the higher the better and very low clamping voltages. Like the article says at 500 V clamping voltage is too late, the damage is done.
To Brad keep up the good work!!

Cunningham1420 · Answer

I have 9 devices hooked up and the 6 main devices are on a 8 outlet 3600 joule Rocketfish surge protector and the remaining 3 devices are on a Phillips 2160 joule surge protector. Now I cant say they work since I cant really tell when im getting lite surges but so far theyve both provided years of reliable service with luckily nothing getting fried.

Answered by Cunningham1420 8 years ago

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Phrank · Answer

From what I've learn anything 2000 joule and higher is good enough for all that. Just keep in mind that the higher the joule rate the more it protects so always go with the higher joule rate surge protector to protect expensive equipment.

Answered by Phrank 7 years ago

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television · Answer

1500

Dezan11 · Answer

1 joule = 1 watt of energy dissipated over 1 second. You can go to any amp to watt calculator and figure out what your total wattage is for all your devices plugged into your Serge protection. Anything 300 and under, clamp voltage is good.

Answered by Dezan11 6 years ago

BBYItems · Answer

You would need to add up the wattage used by each item then usually double it to be safe.

Bsb1 · Answer

It depends on how sensitive each of those components are to surges. A surge protector rated for 1,000 joules will protect your devices from surges of 1,000 joules or less.

“How many joules do I need for adequate protection of a 55"Smart TV, Cable box, Stereo receiver w/CD player?”

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