Folks,
Stabilizers are required for erratic swings in mains voltage.
In most large cities, this is no longer an issue, is my guess.
We have not had such problems at my apartment in Bangalore.
I have been living in the current home for 13 years now.
Most of us have some form of backup power, DG backup, in house UPS, etc.
If the mains voltage is between 210-250V it should be fine.
Get a stabilizer if you want to be "safe" and have peace of mind.
Electrical spike busters are something else. These protect you from unusual surges.
These surges normally happen when the power comes back on after a power cut.
Most new buildings, electrical installations have multiple levels of fail safe.
E.g., in an apartment there is:
1. the panel room
2. the apartment's main LDB
3. the in house UPS
It is unlikely that all three will fail. If they do that's where the Belkins of the world come in.
In my stay here, we have had the panel room MCB cutout on a handful of occasions.
More recently, the surge got thru the panel room, but tripped up the LDB.
The other source of spikes are from the data/TV cables.
- Dish antennae (relatively safe, if there is a lightning rod at a higher level)
- Cable TV coax (these are unprotected)
- Ethernet/Phone cables (these are unprotected)
Most STBs and Modems are el-cheapos and will let the surge thru.
When they do, HDMI boards or PCs get fried, while the STBs/Modems themselves still function.
If available, get a spike buster with electrical, coax, RJ45, RJ11 protection.
These are expensive and usually lead to a wiring mess
I have no first hand experience with power conditioners.
Cheers,
Raghu
