Westom, I have no idea what you're actually suggesting in the context of this thread. How does earth ground help protect against transient spikes, over voltage, under voltage? Are you suggesting everyone needs to attach a ground strap to their Mac and tie that directly to proper earth ground?
A point I made repeatedly. And that another repeatedly ignored.
Start with basic concepts. For example, undervoltage does not harm any electronics. As was required in international design standards long before PCs even existed. No protector claims to protect from nor has spec numbers that address under voltage. Undervoltage is a threat to motorized appliances - not electronics. So an AC utility provides sufficient voltage - or cuts off power to protect motorized appliances.
Undervoltage is only one of tens of possible anomalies. Each (harmonics, overvoltage, floating neutral, frequency variation, polarity reversal, etc) must be discussed separately and is addressed by completely different solutions. No magic box even addresses a majority.
So let's discuss destructive transients (not the single digit noise created by other appliances and so feared when hearsay ignores numbers). This mean remembering concepts originally introduced in elementary school science. And I am sorry. But reality cannot be explained in a sound byte or paragraph.
A surge current seeks earth ground. One conductive path to earth was a wooden church steeple. But wood was not conductive enough. 20,000 amps times a higher voltage in the steeple means energy destructively dissipated in that steeple.
How did Franklin stop damage? Did he 'block' or 'absorb' a surge? Of course not. Franklin simply diverted lightning to earth. His more conductive path meant 20,000 amps times near zero voltage - no energy. A surge harmlessly dissipated in earth.
That is structure protection. A surge far down the street means that surge also must be earthed - for appliance protection. Otherwise that surge is incoming to every household appliance.
Effective surge protection does that even for surges created by stray cars, utility switching, and street rodents. *Divert*. Will a power strip protector 'block' what three miles of sky could not? Of course not. Will its few hundred joules 'absorb' those hundreds of thousands of joules that three miles of sky could not absorb? Of course not. And yet that is what so many will claim such as wirecutter.com. That is what an adjacent protector must do - either 'block' or 'absorb' that energy.
Protection is never about earthing a Mac. Protection was always about earthing the transient. A current that connects to earth BEFORE entering does not go hunting for earth destructively via any appliances. This applies even to 4000 or 15,000 volt power lines falling onto local AC power distribution. Protection over 100 years ago was always about earthing the transient. Always.
Effective protectors are connecting devices to what harmlessly 'absorbs' hundreds of thousands of joules. Protection increases with increased separation between protector and appliances. Protection increased with every inch shorter that hardwire from protector to earth ground. (Word 'impedance' applies.) Protection is always about a current path to earth - either destructively inside or harmlessly outside. As Franklin demonstrated over 250 years ago. A solution always found in facilities that cannot have damage.
Do not earth a Mac. That only makes that Mac a best connection (destructively) to earth. Earth that transient before it gets anywhere near to a Mac.
How do near zero joule protectors 'absorb' hundreds of thousands of joules? Or even larger transient create by an AC utility? It clearly does not. They sell a $3 power strip with some ten cent protector parts for $25 or $100. Obscenely profitable. Knowing full well that most consumers do not even want to know what a protector does. Knowing full well that many naive consumers will recommend these near zero protectors without demanding any spec numbers. Need an example? View that wirecutter.com citation.
Protection has always been about how an electric current gets to earth. Munitions dumps pioneered superior earth ground such as Ufer grounds. Since a protector is only as effective as its earth ground. An example:
http://scott-inc.com/html/ufer.htm
Best protection for a home starts when footing are poured. How many learned any of this well proven science?
Protection from all types of surges is provided for free by a TV cable company and by the telco - as required by industry standards, safety code, etc long before any of us existed. Only incoming utility not required to provide that protection is AC mains.
However even AC utilities install your 'primary' protection layer. What defines every layer of protection? Only item that does protection. Earth ground for each layer defines each layer of protection. No protector defines protection. Protectors are only used when the connection to earth cannot be done better by a hardwire. Or foolishly installed by the naive who assume protect
or sounds like protect
ion. So it must be same.
Franklin demonstrated this well understood and proven concept over 250 years ago. Protection is always about where hundreds of thousands of joules are harmlessly 'absorbed'. A protector is only as effective as its earth ground.
Want to discuss other anomalies. No problem. I was doing this stuff probably long before others here were born. But do not expect sound byte answers without numbers. Other anomalies are addressed by other completely different solutions.
Even the plug-in protector is completely different from a properly earthed 'whole house' protector.
