Automatic Voltage Regulator & Electric Bill

[ozzlvlosis]

I'm building my first PC and I'm worried I might have a power surge. I think I had one last year (it's the only way to explain my ps3 blue ray drive, pc internal and external hard drives frying in the same week) and obviously this new PC will be my baby. I'm not sure if i'm being paranoid but a guy at Microcenter showed me some battery backups with AVR (automatic voltage regulator) and now Im considering it.

The only thing that's weighing on the other side of this decision is how it might affect my electrical bill. Has anyone had a similar experience that might be able to shed some light on how much it could drive up the electric?

I know some of you might say to look at it like insurance if the data is worth protecting but I'm really looking for numbers here and any help is appreciated.

I guess websites that offer data storage/backup is an idea too

thanx in advance

 

[triny]

In 5 years it will be obsolete don't worry but do use a surge protector
In the last 10 years never heard of it
but heat will fry your drives
I use hard copies for material I want to protect

 

[mightymaxio]

I would use a UPS over a AVR, ive heard of ups being used for brown outs or bad power levels more than a AVR.

 

[DelroyMonjo]

UPS is the best power spike/lightning protection you can get. Depending on your set-up it's usually best to match close to what the power supply is but it can get fairly expensive.
I have power strip but no ground on the house wiring so it's probably useless except to plug in multiple power cords. I've had several line transformers, the big ones on power poles, explode near my house and some really close lightning strikes which shut the power down but haven't blown a computer part in the past 20 years.