Surge Protector Strip as a power switch for multiple LED lights

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I hope this is the right place to ask. Hello smart people, I have an power surge protector that has a power switch.
I want to connect some homemade led strips powered by dc adapters to the power surge protector strip. (the led strips just plug in to turn on). I also wanted to connect 1 LED strip with an on/off switch (so I would leave it in ON position and turn off/on with power surge strip)

I was read somewhere that it's ok for light appliances with O and I switch but idk about appliance with no power switch. I was afraid the sudden rush of electricity because of a couple of lights connected to the power surge strip can damage the lights. But isn't that what a surge protector is for?

My question is that can I use the power switch on the surge protector to power on and off my lights?

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@dbz123,

Yes, you are fine with using your power strip.

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Every appliance experiences a "surge of electricity" when it is switched on. However you switch it on. This is normal. Near my computer desk I have a wall outlet with a switch and connected to it is a 10-way power strip with a surge protector. Plugged into this are: a PC, a home server, a monitor, powered speakers, a router, a large laser printer, 2 external hard drives, a powered USB hub and a laptop charger. I turn it off every night when I go to bed and on again the next morning. I've been doing this for years. Everything is fine.

The kind of "surge" that a surge protectors protects against is an abnormal and sudden brief rise in voltage on the power line that comes from outside, for example from a lighting strike on a power line some distance away, or from switching operations by the power company or some other kind of abnormal condition of the power line. They are very rare in cities with buried power cables and more common in areas with exposed power lines on poles.

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Quote:

I was afraid the sudden rush of electricity because of a couple of lights connected to the power surge strip can damage the lights. But isn't that what a surge protector is for?

What you need to be careful of is too many lights connected at once, causing a current surge at switch on through the power strip (and surge protector) which would blow a fuse or damage the power strip or surge protector. Add together the power ratings in watts of all the lights, and compare that figure to the power rating of the power strip, and the power outlet. LED lights can cause breakers to trip at switch on due to 'inrush current', and if this happens you may need a special inrush tolerant breaker for that circuit.

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@dbz123,

Quote:

I hope this is the right place to ask

Apparently so. Doubtless Eng will get back to us with definitive respopnse. However,

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led strips powered by dc adapters to the power surge protector strip. (the led strips just plug in to turn on).

Dbx this is contradictory, needs a bit of clarification

Quote:

I also wanted to connect 1 LED strip with an on/off switch (so I would leave it in ON position and turn off/on with power surge strip)

Seems perfectly feasible

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O and I switch

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but idk

idk either. However I doubt if you'd find the LED has a surge like the incandescent as Tes has apparently suggested

Unless DC converter has a surge, I dunno about that but I doubt it

Eng, help

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@Tes yeux noirs,

Quote:

... surge protectors protects against is an abnormal and sudden brief rise in voltage .....

Again Tes I dunno, but don't some such also protect from a current surge in the load

Dbz, even if Tes doesn't get back to us or Eng doesn't come in, I hope he (Tes) will respond to my apparent stupidity

1 Reply

@dalehileman,

Quote:

I doubt if you'd find the LED has a surge like the incandescent as Tes has apparently suggested

Not like incandescents. I didn't suggest that. Some LEDs have a very brief (around 1 millisecond) inrush spike at switch on which can trip some GFCIs.

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@dalehileman,

Quote:

Again Tes I dunno, but don't some such also protect from a current surge in the load

No. Devices that do that are called "fuses" or "circuit breakers".

A surge protector, as I have already said, protects connected equipment from voltage spikes coming from upstream.

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@dalehileman,

Quote:

Quote:

led strips powered by dc adapters to the power surge protector strip. (the led strips just plug in to turn on).

Dbx this is contradictory, needs a bit of clarification

Not contradictory; not unclear. Each LED light strip has a wall wart (DC adapter) and when you plug the wall wart into an outlet that is alive the LEDs in the strip come on.

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@dalehileman,

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Doubtless Eng will get back to us with definitive respopnse.

When did you get to decide whose responses are "definitive"? Were you appointed by A2K to do this?

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@dalehileman,

Quote:

Quote:

O and I switch

?

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5LmLeWB5U5s/U6R50stKbpI/AAAAAAAAB3w/JOyWboyBLpY/s1600/ION+IS+POWER.gif

The power switch symbol. It's binary 0 and 1, zero (power off) and one (power on).

1 Reply

A couple of things it is worth getting clear.

A surge protector is a small electronic component or sometimes a number of them on a circuit board. Cheap ones used in power strips tend to be "metal oxide varistors" (MOVs).

http://www.electroschematics.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/metal-oxide-varistos.jpg

Some power strips have surge protectors built in. Some don't.

Some people think that all power strips are "surge protectors". They aren't.

1 Reply

@Tes yeux noirs,

Quote:

Some power strips have surge protectors built in. Some don't.

Some people think that all power strips are "surge protectors". They aren't.

In view of this, it may be worth asking the OP if the power strip does or not have a surge protector built in. If it doesn't, we have all been barking up the wrong tree.

The answer remains the same, that you generally can use the on/off switch on a power strip to control all of the things connected to the strip, and a bunch of LEDs are unlikely to cause trouble, but if you connected a number of heavy duty appliances and tried to switch them all at once, you could find the switch burning out after a number of on/off operations. Do not exceed the rating of the power strip. Listen for a fizzing or frying sound at the moment of operating the switch.

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I think someone got butt hurt and started voting my (very reasonable, informative and correct) posts down.

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@Tes yeux noirs,

Quote:

Some LEDs have a very brief (around 1 millisecond) inrush spike

Well thanks Tes, this'n's news to me. Is this the bare LED or is the inrush accounted for by some built-in electronics

1 Reply

@Tes yeux noirs,

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someone got butt hurt

Tes, 'twaren't me

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@Tes yeux noirs,

Quote:

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O and I switch

T'wer a new one on me Tes, surprisingly enough after 85 years in the field. But now the meaning of that second symbol is also apparent. With many thanks, it's not everyday...

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whose responses are "definitive"?

My apologies, no offense intended

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@dalehileman,

I know it wasn't you, Dale.

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@dalehileman,

Quote:

Re: Tes yeux noirs (Post 6202978)
Quote:

Some LEDs have a very brief (around 1 millisecond) inrush spike

Well thanks Tes, this'n's news to me. Is this the bare LED or is the inrush accounted for by some built-in electronics

The switching power supply built into every LED lamp. See the peak in the green (current) trace at switch on which can be up to 50 times the normal current, and can last for 1 to 2 milliseconds. This is like a motor or transformer, only much shorter.

https://www.etcconnect.com/uploadedImages/Main_Site/Content/Support/Articles/Lighting_Fixtures/Inrush%20Current.jpg

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Surge Protector Strip as a power switch for multiple LED lights

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