How to Determine Placement of Surge Arresters and Surge Suppressors

IMPORTANT!  IMPROPER SPECIFICATION OR INSTALLATION OF A SUPPRESSION SYSTEM MAY SEVERELY RESTRICT THE CAPABILITIES OF  YOUR SYSTEM AND WILL ADVERSELY AFFECT ALL BENEFICIAL ASPECTS OF YOUR INSTALLATION.

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     There are a number of factors which much be considered when installing surge arresters and suppressors.  Failure to consider all factors can cause more problems than the installation solves.

 

     Our distribution network is specifically trained to specify and install (or supervise the installation of) surge arrester/suppressor installations and have fulltime engineering support directly from the manufacturer (Stedi-Power, Inc.) for all questions concerning installation.

 

    Our distributors are qualified by the factory through formal training.  We don't allow them a day or two of "shake and bake" orientation and toss them into the street.   Some of these distributors come to us from "the competition".  Most often, we are appalled at the misrepresentation they have been trained to offer.

 

     This is a very important consideration when choosing your installer.  Does your supplier really know his business?

 

     This site was produced by our engineering staff.  Consider the many companies who would like to consider themselves our "competitors" that copy information directly from this site...and repeat it like poorly trained parrots.

 

Then...YOU decide. 
 

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Specification of Transient Voltage Surge Suppression for the typical facility requires that you:

•  Identify the Level of Protection Required

•  Identify the Necessary Protection Points

•  Identify Your Electrical Services

•  Calculate Your Costs (Contact Us)

•  Order Your Equipment (Contact Us)

•  Install your Equipment

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Important Note!

The following information is not intended to take the place of a proper survey of your facility. A trained specialist may identify problems that require little or no expense to correct, or may identify problems which, if not corrected, may limit the ability of our (or anyone's) equipment to achieve the best results possible.    Improper specification of transient voltage surge equipment can solve some problems and create new ones.

1. IDENTIFY THE LEVEL OF PROTECTION DESIRED:
    The first step in specifying equipment for your installation is to determine what benefit you wish to receive.  You must determine if you wish minimal or full protection for all of your electrical equipment.  The differences between the two approaches are most easily seen in return on investment:

ANSI (The American National Standards Institute) specifies levels of protection required for specific "zones" with in a facility.  While you can use these zones to determine how "stout" your suppression equipment needs to be, Stedi-Power products are qualified for installation in ALL zones.  This greatly simplifies the specification requirements.

ANSI CATEGORIES

2. IDENTIFY NECESSARY PROTECTION POINTS:|
    The best transient voltage surge suppression equipment is installed at distribution panels (circuit breaker panels).  This allows shunted voltage s to be diverted AWAY from sensitive equipment using the facilities electrical distribution wiring.  Again, the locations chosen will be determined by the level of protection you require.  For best protection you should place the transient voltage surge suppressor in cascaded arrays so that if a large transient causes a device failure, equipment downstream will continue to be protected.

FULL PROTECTION
    Full protection will quickly pay for itself.  From the perspective of justifying your purchase, this method is preferred because the savings produced is easily verified for those that maintain repair and replacement records.  Most customers note immediate differences in equipment as evidenced by increased reliability, reduced motor and transformer noise, reductions in light replacements, and reduced computer-related stoppages.
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    Full protection will not only protect equipment from externally generated transients, but will isolate equipment inside the facility and eliminate transients travelling between all of your electrical devices.  These transients can account for between 30% to 50% of all downtime, according to many professional maintenance organizations.  The U.S. Navy has found that their surge suppression installations show a return on investment in about 1.09 years.

MINIMAL PROTECTION
    This method has the least expensive up-front cost, but will only protect your facility from externally generated transients.  Although these types of transients are responsible for more deaths and property loss than tornadoes, hurricanes and flood combined, they only account for between 5% and 15% of the transient voltages your equipment is bombarded with.
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DISADVANTAGES OF MINIMAL PROTECTION
    Since the majority of transient activity is produced within the facility, minimal protection at the service entrance does not produce full benefit from installation.
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