Rating of the best network filters

Even choosing a simple inexpensive surge protector, you should not neglect the opportunity to get the most thoughtful protection for your money. In our opinion, such in this price category provides an independent automatic fuse. At a minimum, its heating at loads close to the operating currents does not affect the circuit breaker in any way. Such a design solution is used not only in the 600th series of Defender DFS power filters, but we specifically recommend them because of the additional bonus — protection against accidental pressing of the power button. For some reason, such an elementary technique as installing a switch in the recess of the case is used extremely rarely, although it costs nothing to manufacturers, but it can really bring benefits. Finally, the Defender DFS 601/603/605 surge protectors are equipped with separate network indicators, which is practically «exclusive» in this segment.

Quite a typical situation: a house in the village, Internet «from the phone», a satellite dish. Plus, frequent thunderstorms. How to secure most of the sensitive equipment in one fell swoop? The easiest way is with the help of such a universal “multi-station” as the APC PMF83VT-RS surge protector. For a complete set, it lacks only the protection of the LAN input, but we proceed from the fact that the owners of the house in question prefer the wireless connection method. A pleasant feature of the recommended model is its excellent energy absorption and maximum peak current characteristics. Lightning protection in it is implemented on a bunch of varistors and a surge arrester in the power circuit, varistors and fuses — for a telephone line, a surge arrester — for a coaxial line.

We remind you that the use of a surge protector in the absence of a working ground makes no sense precisely from the point of view of lightning protection.

If you do not consider it difficult to regularly remove “extra” plugs from the surge protector to turn off temporarily unused consumers, take into account the deterioration in the reliability of contacts if this procedure is performed frequently. It’s no secret that, in their quest for maximum profitability, manufacturers often use sub-par materials. The same smelly plastic for the manufacture of cases, for example, or too soft material for busbars. It is the latter that can provide unpleasant «surprises», especially in cases where plugs with different thicknesses of contact pins are alternately inserted into the same outlet. And in the presence of individual switches, the probability of irreversible deformation of the tire is much lower. It is a pity that there is not much choice in this category. But there is a surge protector model with special sockets for a narrow Euro plug, which we recommend to you. Keep in mind, MOST Active A10/A16 are just extension cables.

If the phrase “smart home” is already familiar to you, but the desired level of home automation has not yet been reached, we advise you to pay attention to this network filter model. Let’s say you didn’t have time to get a smart kettle. It doesn’t matter, Rubetek RE-3310 will turn on the usual one by voice command or by the built-in timer in accordance with the given scenario. Naturally, in addition to the filter itself, this will require a smartphone or tablet with a special application and a home Wi-Fi network with an Internet connection.

Further. Rubetek RE-3310 is able to control the amount of current flowing through each outlet, and the mentioned application creates interconnected scenarios, so the fact that the boiled kettle is turned off can serve as a command to start a new process. In addition, using the recommended filter, it is easy to organize the accounting of electricity costs for individual consumers. Finally, the USB port controller is also quite advanced here. Unfortunately, he doesn’t know about fast charging, but he gives out “honest” 5 V / 2.4 A on a single port (maximum 4 x 1 A).

It is almost impossible to surprise a sophisticated technomaniac with the presence of USB charging ports in a surge protector. Another thing is that the vast majority of such models are capable of delivering only banal 5 V / 1 A, therefore, the owners of modern smartphones are not very interested in them. Against their background, the products of the LDNIO brand look much more attractive, although this manufacturer did not bother with the implementation of Power Delivery technology in the recommended surge protector. Judging by the reviews, the SE6403 only supports the extended first version of Quick Charge — i.e. capable of delivering a current of 3.4 A to one port with the same 5 V voltage and the absence of “competitors”. However, low-power representatives of the latter complicate the situation slightly, since the company promises auto-balancing of ports. Of the profile chips of the filter, we note high-quality protection from children and small objects (curtains).

Continues our top of the best network filters APC PM5T-RS. The organization of Internet channels using ADSL technology is now used less and less. If circumstances nevertheless force one to resort to it, it makes sense to provide for an increased probability of receiving a lightning discharge, somewhere “caught” by the communication line. It should be recognized that specialized solutions provide more reliable protection, but the price tags there are appropriate. In this sense, the APC PM5T-RS surge protector can even be called a budget filter, insofar as it is able to protect not only the input circuits of communication equipment, but also its power supplies from surges. In fact, we recommend a model from the entry-level line, just a critical parameter in this case is the response time of the varistors, and it is quite comparable with the capabilities of more expensive devices. We remind you that the reliability of this type of protection is largely determined by the presence and quality of the «ground» in your electrical network.

Network filters of this purpose are best installed permanently in an apartment shield, but there are situations when a mobile relay is preferable. For example, if the voltage of the electrical network “walks” over a wide range, it is unrealistic to officially achieve its normalization, but there is a desire to protect especially sensitive equipment. The same old refrigerators that need a restart delay after the compressor is turned off, at least. The recommended mains filter allows you to adjust the reclosing delay in a very wide range (up to 15 minutes). No less useful is its ability to respond at different speeds to moderate and significant voltage output beyond the limit values. Finally, the RN-101M copes quite well with the suppression of RF interference, and it also protects against high-voltage impulses in the presence of grounding.

It is unlikely that anyone will argue that looking after small children is an extremely troublesome task. They actively learn about the world around them, and in modern housing, adventurous exploration can lead to big trouble. Of course, all kinds of plugs are the most budgetary option for protecting against electric shock «from the outlet», but they must not be forgotten to be put in place after turning off the appliance. In addition, the repetition of this operation can, on the contrary, attract the attention of the child and push him to dangerous experiments.

Another thing is the protective shutters in the surge protector, extension cord or the outlet itself. Their design simply does not allow access to current-carrying elements through a single hole. It is necessary to simultaneously press both pads so that the curtain plate rotates.

Why did we include the expensive Schneider Electric in the rating of the best network filters? Judging by the reviews of electricians, these very curtains in the products of little-known brands are regularly “wedged”.

Do you plan to regularly load your extension cord to the fullest? Pay attention to the products of the brand HARPER. Firstly, the manufacturer uses normal overvoltage protection — 3-varistor. Secondly, he puts two-pole switches in his surge protectors, the location of which is carefully thought out — in a recess, but with sloping walls. And protection against accidental activation, and ease of access at the same time. Thirdly, the connection of power wires with group buses is performed by welding. Of the bonuses, the advanced display system and protective curtains deserve mention. True, the latter’s design is not the most reliable (from young “electricians”), but a direct-stroke valve is more reliable in terms of possible jamming, and saves from dust and foreign objects no worse than a rotary mechanism. Well, three USB charging ports on the farm will come in handy. Moreover, the maximum long-term current for one of them is 3 A (according to tests). If this aspect of the filter is of particular interest to you, take a look at the UCH-350. Here, one of the ports is USB Type-C, and with support for Power Delivery version 3.0 (18 W), and the total load current is generally 4.8 A.