A recent load shedding fried my PC's power unit. Is there any way that I can avoid this from happening again, seeing as load shedding is not going anywhere anytime soon?

The simplest method — and the one that won't cost you a cent — would be to unplug your PC and any other sensitive electronic equipment from the wall socket when you leave your home for the day.

This way, if any power surges occur when the power comes back on after a load shed, your stuff will be safe.

Of course, this is a very cumbersome method and not nearly ideal, which brings me to two other options — the one relatively cheap and the other rather expensive.

First, the cheap option: go to your local PC or hardware store and buy a surge protector for your appliances. It's a little unit that plugs into the wall, while the power cord of your PC/appliance then plugs into it. Any power surges will then be blocked.

The more expensive option, but a lot more effective, is getting hold of an UPS (Uninterruptible power supply). A UPS will continue supplying electricity to your equipment for a brief time after a power cut, allowing you to switch off your equipment in the normal fashion. It will also protect your equipment against power surges and spikes.

These things are, however, quite expensive. They can go for anywhere from a couple of hundred bucks to as much as R6000.