How to Keep Your Fridge (and Other Appliances) From Getting Fried in the Next Storm

Electricity is great — except when it’s not. A sudden surge, like the kind produced during a storm or brownout, can have disastrous results for your TVs, refrigerator, and other appliances.

I learned this the hard way: A few years back, a storm caused the lights to flicker several times over the course of a few minutes. Then the power went out, came back on, went out again — and this happened numerous times. When the storm was finally over, we discovered two casualties: our fridge and a TV soundbar. Ugh.

Thankfully, I had most of my other electronics plugged into surge-protectors — just not the soundbar. And I hadn’t really thought about the refrigerator, because I didn’t think it could get fried that way. It wasn’t a delicate piece of technology, after all.

Needless to say, I came away from that costly lesson with one mantra: Never again.

Simple, inexpensive surge protectors are an effective insurance policy against this kind of thing. I’ve now deployed them just about everywhere; allow me to share the ones I chose and why.

Surge-protection for large appliances

My fridge fix is a dedicated surge protector that’s specifically designed for large appliances. I bought the BSEED V0009 1-Outlet Surge Protector, which normally sells for around $17 but is often discounted (which it is at this writing, with an on-page coupon bringing it down to just $12.74).

This simple plug protects against power spikes, fluctuations, and so on — basically anything that could zap a 120-volt appliance. Whenever there’s a brownout, an outage, or the like, the plug cuts power completely for three minutes until things stabilize.

I’ve witnessed this firsthand many times over the past several years, and the fridge is still chugging along. I feel a lot more comfortable knowing the BSEED is there. And I especially like the 3-year warranty.

Take note, however, that the unit sticks out from the wall a couple inches. Assuming your AC outlet is directly behind your fridge, that means your fridge will end up sticking out a couple extra inches as well — not ideal for some kitchens. If that’s an issue, consider something like the Ludger Power Surge Protector for Appliances, which also protrudes but has its outlet facing the side, not the front.

The only bummer here is that it costs roughly twice as much as the BSEED (when on sale). But it’s still cheaper than a new fridge, duh, and if you can’t abide the icebox protruding even more into the kitchen, it’s the only logical choice.

Whatever you do, don’t make my same mistake; make sure all your major appliances are protected.

Surge-protection for your TV, soundbar, and game console

Now let’s talk about your living room, or wherever you keep your TV, soundbar, game console, and perhaps even old-school Blu-ray player and cable box. These devices are very susceptible to power surges, as they contain nothing but fragile circuitry. One small zap could turn movie night into crying-your-eyes-out night.

Thankfully, you don’t need anything fancy (or expensive) here; I recommend the Belkin 12-Outlet Power Strip, which includes more than enough surge-protected outlets to handle your home theater.

It’s wall-mountable and includes plastic routing clips to help reduce cord clutter. Even better, Belkin backs it with a 2-year warranty and — wait for it — $300,000 of connected-equipment coverage. That basically means that if a power surge fries anything plugged into the strip, Belkin will replace it. (Needless to say, I like this for the home office as well: computer, monitor, printer, Wi-Fi router, etc.)

The protector sells for $30. You might be able to save $5-10 with a no-brand alternative, but it won’t offer anywhere near the same insurance (if any at all). I rarely say this, but here I will: Spend the extra.