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As everyone knows, surge protection devices or surge protective devices (SPD) protect electrical equipment against over-voltages caused by lightning. That said, it is not always easy to know which to choose.

Choosing the right surge arrester and protective circuit breakers involve a considering a wide range of parameters related to types of surge protection devices, circuit breaker arrangements, and risk assessment.

Let’s try to see things more clearly…

Submit the form, get more about protection device (Circuit Breaker or Fuse) associated with Surge Protective Device.

First of all, current standards define three categories of surge protective devices for low-voltage electrical installations:

What surge protective devices should be chosen and where should they be installed?

Lightning protection should be approached from an overall viewpoint. Depending on the application (large industrial plants, data centers, hospitals, etc.), a risk assessment method must be used to guide in choosing optimal protection (lightning protection system, surge protective devices). National regulations, moreover, may make it compulsory to use the EN 62305-2 standard (Risk assessment).

In other cases (housing, offices, buildings not sensitive to industrial risks), it is easier to adopt the following protection principle:

In all cases, a Type 2 surge protective device will be installed in the electrical installation’s incoming-end switchboard. Then, the distance between that surge protective device and the equipment to be protected should be assessed. When this distance exceeds 30 meters, an additional surge protective device (Type 2 or Type 3) should be installed near the equipment.

And the sizing of surge protective devices?

Then, the sizing of Type 2 surge protective devices depends mainly on the exposure zone (moderate, medium, high): there are different discharge capacities for each of these categories (Imax = 20, 40, 60 kA (8/20μs)).

For Type 1 surge protective devices, the minimum requirement is a discharge capacity of Iimp = 12.5 kA (10/350μs). Higher values may be required by the risk assessment when the latter is requested.

How to choose the protection devices associated with the surge protective devices?

Finally, the protection device associated with the surge protective device (circuit breaker or fuse) will be chosen according to the short-circuit current at the place of installation. In other words, for a residential electrical switchboard, a protection device with an ISC < 6 kA will be chosen.

For office applications, the ISC is generally < 20 kA.

Manufacturers must provide the table for coordination between the surge protective device and the associated protection device. More and more surge protective devices already incorporate this protection device in the same enclosure.

Simplified selection principle (excluding full risk assessment)

MOREDAY SOLAR is a well-known manufacturer of surge protectors in China. Their products have CE CB TUV certification, fully automated production lines, and product quality is guaranteed. It has unique advantages in the production and manufacture of surge protectors. It is your choice of supplier the only choice. For more needs, please contact: info@moreday.com.