WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT TRANSIENT VOLTAGES?

    At the very minimum, your facility must be protected from externally produced transient voltages.  The same logic that applies to plugging a personal computer into a surge strip as a matter of routine should equally apply to much more expensive and critical equipment within your business...or your home.

MINIMAL PROTECTION

    In this type of installation, protection is installed at the service entrance (where electricity enters your building just after the meter at your first available means of disconnect).

DISADVANTAGES

•  Limited follow-on protection
    All suppression devices are "consumed" as they age.   When they reach the end of their useful life, they simply "cease to exist" in terms of effective surge arresting/suppression.  When the device at the service entrance (illustrated here) fails, the system is left completely vulnerable to all transient activity.

•  Limited protection from internally generated transients
    Note that while you have protected your facility from external sources of transient activity, the majority of internally generated transient activity is not affected by the installation.  This is because the suppressor is too far away from the common points of connection on the remaining panels to be effective in isolating those loads from each other.  This is demonstrated at the first panel, where you can see that all of the loads connected to this panel are "isolated" because of the proximity of the arrester/suppressor.

•  Possible exposure to transient activity not passing through service entrance
    Consider that some panels may service equipment that is actually located outside the building.  For example, one of the lower panels illustrated here may be servicing outside lighting, or an air-conditioner or compressor on the roof or on the ground outside the building.  Lightning stri king any of these outside devices would have a pathway into the building that is unprotected.

THE BEST SOLUTION

    Your electrical system is exactly as it is described...a SYSTEM.  The same approach should be taken in protecting your facility where different stages of protection, working as a SYSTEM provide the maximum benefit and protection possible.

Stedi-Power, Inc
5044 B U Bowman Drive #102
Buford, Georgia 30518
PHONE: (678) 546-6780

Last Updated: 07 Jun 2004
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