Why Install A Surge Protector - Protect Your Equipment From Fire
What is a surge? Surges are defined as very rapid, short-term changes in high voltage that exceed 110% of nominal, and are typically caused by lightning, line or capacitor switching, or the disconnection of heavy loads. Sometimes also called transient voltages, these random, high-energy electrical disturbances occur for only 1 to 10 microseconds, as shown in the figure below. Therefore, surges should not be confused with longer-duration events such as swells or temporary overvoltages, so why install surge protectors?
surge protection device provide just that: a line of defense against surges! Surges can damage electronic components and cause data processing errors, data loss, equipment damage, and electromagnetic interference. In fact, 80% of surges originate from within a facility. When high-power electrical equipment within a facility, such as elevators, air conditioners, refrigerators, pumps, compressors, and motors, are turned on and off or cycled, they generate internal surges. Regardless of the source, the voltage increase caused by surges can damage components of electrical systems, such as computers, networks, and process control equipment.
Because modern electronics consist of microprocessors that rely on digital signals, even slight distortions on power or signal lines can disrupt sensitive signal sequences. As electronic components become smaller and more powerful, they also become more sensitive. In fact, almost all electronic devices now have high circuit density, with microchips containing thousands of transistors on a single chip. For these reasons, surge protective device represents a standard technology for improving microprocessor reliability and uptime.
Even if the product equipment is not destroyed immediately, the increased strain over time can cause expensive components to fail prematurely. It is important to note that while surge protection will not keep your equipment running during a power outage, destructive surges occur much more frequently than power outages. Properly designed surge protection, with multi-stage surge protectors, can mitigate the impact of surge energy, gradually reducing any remaining surge energy to insignificant levels.
