Nobody wants to talk about protection because it is simply not sexy. Think insurance, data protection, Plan B. They are all supporting actors until they are get thrusted into the spotlight.
It has been a very long time between drinks for the Belkin surge protector range, somewhere in the region of 15 years give or take. The newly launched Belkin Surge Protection range refresh was pioneered in Australia by the local Belkin ANZ team to ensure it addresses key local needs.
DRN was lucky to enough attend a launch event with Belkin down at Crown, along with a swag of these new power boards to play with. Thanks for your hospitality Belkin!
Musings
I spent much of my career doing the unsexy things – being a subject matter expert for data protection and disaster recovery. If there’s a Who’s who’s list of technology centric matters that nobody cares about, including my own boss, then it would have been one of my responsibilities at some point.
When the proverbial hits the fan, you become the hero for all of a few hours, then it’s back into the cave until the next disaster strikes.
Who in the right mind really thinks about the electricity that powers everything we use? We flip the switch and we expect things to work. Rarely we see lights flicker, or switch off and restored just as quickly. Even more rare would be an outage that last a few hours – at least in metropolitan areas. Martin would argue differently given he lives in the bush out in Western Australia.
We have brown outs, occasionally black outs. Minor surges happens without us knowing and without any great or known lasting impact.
First Impressions
The previous generation of the Belkin Surge Protectors are a pretty chunky affair. The one I had was white with dark grey trims, a very wide unit with the coax, RJ11 and RJ45 ports on top of the 8 GPOs. If memory serves me correctly. I could have sworn I still have it lying around but a late night look turned up nothing.
The 2024 version is still thicck, but in a different way. Much of the excess width has been trimmed off. There are a few versions too, with single plug, four, six and eight socket options.
Apart of the single socket version, the other three all share the same design language. The boards are largely matte white, with a gloss recessed global switch. There are two indicator lights to show that the board is in active protection mode (vis-a-vis failed), or equipment is not grounded. They all feature dual USB-C ports as well.
The four way version has all the sockets inline in a single row. The six way and eight way have them evenly spaced in two rows with the earth pin on the outside edge.
The USB-C ports are located on the opposite edge to the power button and are Power Delivery enabled ports with a total of 30W shared across the two ports.
Under the hood are high-capacity metal oxide varistors (MOVs) that absorbs damaging excess power and releases it as heat to protect our devices.
In Use
What do you say about using a power board? There is no configuration involved. You plug your devices in, hit that power button and it is up and running.
Belkin has included standard with the multiport Surge Protection range a two metres power cord.
With any power board, it is a fight between size and available space. Sockets cramped together means you are not likely to fit anything other than a AS/NZS 3112 mains plug in next to each other. But as we know, technology is not an ideal world and every device manufacturer also have their little (and not so little) power bricks which can make it a fight to fit all your gadget needs in.
Looking at my six way board where I have my Zyxel router, Amazon Echo and NUC plugged in. The flanges on the Zyxel plug is just wide enough to put a bit of strain on fitting one of the other plugs next to it. Not an issue for an AS/NZS 3112 plug though.
Unfortunately as I said, the spacing between sockets requires a trade off with the overall size of the package.
Whilst Belkin has gone with a simple design that makes it inoffensive to be seen, they have kept the ability to mount the board to a surface with the mounting holes on the back.
Connected Equipment Warranties
The new range of the Belkin Surge Protection lineup comes with two years warranty alongside their Connected Equipment Warranty (CEW).
CEW goes beyond standard product warranties assuring users that their connected devices—be it phones, laptops, washing machines, or TVs—are covered in the event of damage caused by electrical surges or lightning strikes while properly connected to a Belkin Surge Protector and Belkin will replace or repair their connected equipment. The level of monetary coverage varies depending on the product which will be detailed below.
Belkin was asked at the launch as to how often have they had to process CEW claims. According to the ANZ Managing Director Stephanie Caulfield, although there has been instances where Belkin has honoured the CEW claims, the number statistically has been low against the number of units in the wild. A sure sign that the Belkin Surge Protection range is working as designed.
Product specific features
1 Outlet Surge Protector, designed for high value appliances such as refrigerator
- 1,800 joules of surge protection to protect the life of your electronics and appliances
- $30,000 CEW for connected devices
4 Outlet Surge protector
- 525 joules of surge protection to protect the life of your electronics and appliances
- $40,000 CEW for connected devices
6 Outlet Surge protector
- 650 joules of surge protection to protect the life of your electronics and appliances
- $50,000 CEW for connected devices
8 Outlet Surge protector
- 900 joules of surge protection to protect the life of your electronics and appliances
- $70,000 CEW for connected devices
Other Details
The multiport Surge Protectors are protected by an 11-point safety system.
- Over-temperature protection
- Over-current protection
- Overload protection
- Overvoltage protection
- Short-circuit protection
- Clamping voltage protection
- Three-line AC protection (hot, neutral, ground)
- Glow-Wire tested at 850°C
- Surge-protection indicator
- Not-grounded indicator
- Recessed power switch
The single port Surge Protector is protected by a 6-point system but details are scant on that. One thing I have notice is that there is no power switch on it.
Gripes
I have to point out the elephant in the room, sorry Belkin. Just give me a wink and a nudge that it’s in the pipeline. For a fully revamped product that is say a decade plus in the making, there are some glaring missing features.
There is just a single master switch – the board is either all on, or all off. That is, all the sockets and the USB ports.
Secondly, there are no smarts built into the power board. In 2024 where home automation is gaining traction, there is no Matter, or Zigbee, Z-Wave or any of the protocols that support a smart home. The Home Assistant fans would come out in droves for some smart home features.
Belkin if you are heeding my words, if this is on your roadmap, do not alienate the Home Assistant crowd with some proprietary solution that makes it impossible to work with outside of Belkin apps. Befriend the HA crowd and they will build your kingdom for you. Hit me up if you want some of the scenarios I would personally use.
Conclusions
I remember when I was a kid living in Hong Kong, dad would unplug our computers from the wall points when there is a thunderstorm as a precaution. A Saffer ex-girlfriend told me stories of lightning strikes that left scorch marks on the wall as it ran up the phone line in their house in South Africa.
Power surges are real and it does happen. Here in Australia we are relatively lucky but it only takes one unlucky moment to damage your equipment. If you for a moment, imagine what is connected just for your TV. You are likely to have a soundbar, perhaps a home theatre system. A games console or two. The value adds up.
A Surge Protector is a low cost investment to avoid a potential high value pain. Belkin recommends replacing these every two to three years as there is no telling how hard it has worked in that time span.
The 4, 6 and 8 outlet surge protectors can be found at JB Hi-Fi, Officeworks, The Good Guys, Bunnings and Belkin.com/au in Australia. The 1 outlet surge protector is coming soon. Prices are as follows:
- 1 Outlet Surge Protector – AUD$34.95
- 4 Outlet Surge Protector – AUD$79.95
- 6 Outlet Surge Protector – AUD$89.95
- 8 Outlet Surge Protector – AUD$99.95 (discounted to $88 at time of publushing)
DRN would like to thank Belkin for providing the review units.
