In light recent economic policies that could affect the stability of our regional electric power infrastructure, we are advising users to please make sure their electronic devices are not plugged directly into electrical wall outlets but plugged instead into surge protectors. This apples both in your offices at MIT and at home. Power fluctuations in our power grid can cause electrical surges that can do as much damage as lightning strikes. These surges can cause irreparable damage to electronics and computers.
When evaluating surge protectors, please be aware that not all surge protectors are created equal. Generally the cheaper the surge protector, the less effective the surge protection might be. For more expensive pieces of equipment like computers consider higher quality surge protection like those made by (but not limited to) Belkin, Tripp, and Anker. Always check the reviews and ratings and the total number of reviews as a part of the evaluation process. Generally the most accurately reviewed surge protector products will have over 1000 reviews. Those with 10,000 reviews and more will be the most accurate.
There are also surge protectors with built in battery power. These Universal Power Supplies (UPSes) are frequently used to keep servers running when the power goes out but they can also be used in the home environment to help you protect your work and give you time to save what your’e working on before the power goes out. With UPSes, the more equipment you have running plugged into them, the larger the battery pack has to be. APC is the grand daddy of brands in this market and the gold standard that all UPSes are judged against. Their products are low maintenance and user serviceable and use non-volatile lead acid batteries that are inexpensive and can sit for long periods of time plugged into an outlet. In my experience the average life span of the lead acid batteries in UPSes is about 6-8 years or so and that is with the unit having been tripped several times in that period due to blackouts. For most purposes a 1000VA (Volt-Amperes) UPS is fine for most single desktop computer setups. 600VA is likely fine for a laptop setup since a laptop also has its own battery. If you’re running your own server, 1500VA or more may make more sense if you’re trying to keep the server up for as long as possible, assuming your network and link to the Internet are both still running.
In any situation where populations lose power for prolonged periods due to natural disasters or other catastrophic emergencies like hurricanes, tornadoes, wild fires, floods/tsunamis, volcanic activity, and/or earthquakes, we also recommend members of the community take steps to be prepared. The CDC has a great comic guide for what to have and what to do in case of a Zombie Apocalypse. The information to help you prepare for a Zombie Apocalypse is the same as that for any natural disasters and any other national or local emergency where local services and infrastructure are severely impacted.
CDC’s Zombie Apocalypse preparedness:
https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/6023
Survival Tips:
US Military Veterans Beau and Belle run a You Tube channel where they provide information about disaster preparedness among many other issues:
Preparedness basics:
Q&A:
Please let us know if anyone has any questions or concerns.