APC Automatic Voltage Regulator, LE1200, Line-R 1200VA

I have a bit of a problem: I use lots of power hungry tech that runs 24/7, but my home was built in the 1880's and the wiring was last done in the 70's. Suffice to say, certain new electronics have proven to be more sensitive to power fluctuations than others, with quite a few things breaking (such as a big screen TV) or actually catching fire (such as a bitcoin miner). This happens because the power in the home can randomly fluctuate quite a bit. Normally they go completely undetected, but sometimes it can be enough to cause the lights to flicker. It gets worse when other power hungry devices, like heaters or air conditioners, turn on along the same breaker line.When I decided to put a new computer together, which happens to rank in the top 1% of all desktop computers, I knew I needed to protect it from the voltage irregularities. I decided to have this plugged directly into the wall, with a higher rated surge protector going after (just in case) and literally everything was plugged into that.That was back in January of 2016, and in the full year since there were no problems. When there is a sudden change in voltage I can audibly hear the device adjusting briefly, but no disruption to work. On a few occasions the house voltage changed enough for the lights to flicker, and no problem. In fact, the only occasion that the computer actually shut down due to a voltage issue was when it fluctuated for more than 30 seconds and that was a borderline brown out, and that was more of a problem with not having a UPS installed.I will be adding a UPS to the chain, happening after the voltage regulator and before the extra surge protection, to address the potential problem of power outages affecting my work.I would definately buy again, even if this should someday fail, for use with others part of the house that have sensitive electronics. As far as I am concerned, this is even more important to have than a surge protector when the wiring of the house is old. Yes, I know I really should re-wire the entire house, but this is actually affordable and accomplishes the same goal.

For the price point this unit does very well! Highly recommend it. I use for my PA rig powering my signal processors and mixer. When used properly, it works well.Construction is cheap. Amazon needs to ship these in bigger boxes with packing material for cushion...MY FIRST ONE CAME IN WITHOUT PACKING MATERIAL AND THUS DAMAGED DURING SHIPPING. My replacement one was undamaged but packed the same way without cushion, the only difference is the shipment went via expedited, so less trans loading and handling when moved. Amazon customer service was VERY HELPFUL in arranging this expedited shipping for me, at no extra cost.I made my review about the packaging with Amazon, and they acknowledged this. Hopefully will help others.This product is not a UPS with a battery, strictly line voltage regulation. It does have surge protection rated at 702 joules.***There seems to be confusion of when this unit will regulate voltage, and one must read the specifications to understand this.For most in the US 120 volts is the norm, so when this unit is set to that, it has a -12% to +6% range around the center voltage of 120 volts according to the specs. Most electronic device power supplies are designed to handle the range this unit regulates to. The response time this reacts to any voltage fluctuations is acceptable to (under 2 AC cycles)THAT MEANS...When set to 120 on the back and your incoming line voltage drops below 105 volts this will activate the transformer to step up the voltage back to around ~120. If you have an over voltage, it will not activate the transformer until the incoming voltage goes above 127.2 volts to step it back down.

This thing is heavy, which is usually a good sign for this type of product. It does what even good UPS's don't, and that's regulate your power even when it fluctuates mildly. Sure, many products will protect you from 140V+ or turn on at 90V, but that's still enough to burn out everything from a simple wall wart power brick to a DVR from dishnetwork. I know, as I've experienced such things with my crappy Los Angeles power service. In afternoons, it'll drop to 110V, and if I use the garbage disposal, a laser printer, or turn on my stereo and 2 amplifiers, voltage drops below 108V. This is enough to destroy many sensitive products over time. It's so bad in my house, that it's destroyed two UPS's by forcing them to click on and off so much and to compensate for low voltage so much they burned out!The APC LE1200 prevents this damage. It clicks on and returns voltage levels back to around 120V at a level high enough that your electronics don't get damage before they are protected (what's the point of protection that only helps once the damage is done?). I know it's working because I can hear it click on, and return power to the right levels even as my house voltage sits at 106-108V (confirmed by the voltage meter in my Panamax).I'm so impressed with the performance of this unit in my home theater that I bought 2 more, one to protect my computer (it installs between the UPS and the wall to protect the computer and the UPS), and one for my plasma TV (because it's located away from my HT equipment). At $50 a piece, this thing is a no brainer. A quality UPS is 3-5x as much and still doesn't protect your equipment as well. And it can burn out. The LE1200 has little chance of burning out, so for equipment that doesn't need battery backup, or even to feed a UPS, this product is the way to go.