I have everything, from the the helix's to the fish aquarium canister filter & lights, all plugged in to power strips that have the built in surge protector and off switch.

My house still hase a fuse box. I have future plans to switch it to a breaker box but i have had fuses blow and actually lost a big screen TV in the process because it wasnt plugged into a strip with surge protection.

Thats a chance i wont take with my reptiles and fish aquarium.

So yes. Definately. I dont trust mother nature when it comes to crazy weather. The drivers who like to hit utility poles in my area, or the fuses in my house.