Surge Protection helps Immensely in Increasing the Lifespan of Electronics
Among all the electrical/electronic faults, power surges caused due to direct lightning or switching
activities rushing into your devices can be disastrous leading to fire hazards or can put a halt to the
normal function of your devices. Devices plugged directly into an outlet exposed to a hostile
environment and those staying indoors are susceptible to surge events. Despite being indoors, your
devices plugged directly to power outlets lead to reduce the lifespan of your electronics and are not
assured safety.
They can still be at risk by the power strikes and surges encroaching inside the facility via the
transmission lines and communication lines due to direct lightning occurrences. It is now easy to tackle
the major cause of surges such as – lightning surges, frequent switching activities, electromagnetic
induction, etc. just by incorporating a ​surge arrester​. Surges are unpredictable events that can hit your
electronics at any point of time.
Know why the surge arresters a crucial element in your electric network is
explained in this section
SPDs designed to keep undesired voltage away from your gadgets are similar to that of a power strip but
much more powerful than the power strip. Before discussing the possibility of occurrence of surge
events and the strength of the surges, we will learn the scenario of how we choose a protection unit. For
diverting reasonably high value of transient current safely to the ground, incorporation of a properly
rated protection system as per the application is necessary to clamp the incoming voltage hikes to a
threshold level which will extend the lifespan of devices and avoid possible damages. Different
manufacturers utilize different technology further the manufacturing technology of protection unit
matters and has its effect on the protection scenario.
Demonstrating on the manufacturing technology involved
When we talk of manufacturing technology of surge absorbers – they can be based on MOV technology,
spark gap technology and silicon avalanche suppressor diodes or it may also be a combination of any of
them. Based on the technology and application, the SPDs can be of Class B, class C and class B+C strictly
adhering to IS/IEC 62305-4, IEC 61643 and UL standards and they revolve around the voltage and
current ratings. Type 1/Class B Surge suppressors installed at the main supply unit just after the fuse
block - to allow normal current to enter from the main power supply.
They are typically engineered to tackle the transient voltage in 10/350µs (waveform for lightning
surges). Type 2/ Class C Modules of suitable rating as that of the protection required equipment are
installed in parallel to the equipment to discharge the switching surges in 8/20µs (waveform for
switching surges). Another special type of SPDs designed for electronics damaged by both lightning and
switching surges are Class B+C type SPDs that can mitigate the effects of both Lightning and switching
transients that will act both in both 10/350µs and 8/20µs respectively.
According to relevant standards, the overvoltage absorption capacity of Surge Protection Devices
depends on the cable length and distance at which it is installed and so it is recommended to be kept at
minimum distance.