The importance of surge arresters
May 2012
Electrical Power & Protection
Lightning in South Africa causes millions of rands in damage to property annually. Each individual thunderstorm has the potential to cost a home or business time and money if it is not properly protected. Lightning up to one kilometre away can still cause damage.
While lightning can cause catastrophic failure, transients and surges caused by other phenomena can also cause havoc. Even though surges are so brief that they are measured in nanoseconds, they can cause considerable damage to electronic equipment. Apart from destroying wiring and data cables, electrical surges can damage computer equipment, telephones and other electronic goods, gradually wearing down the device’s internal components. DEHN’s surge arresters are designed to protect and maintain system reliability, regardless of the cause or magnitude of these transients.
A surge arrester is a voltage activated device that protects computers and other electronic equipment from surges or transient voltages in electrical power or data cables, whether it be from lightning or a switching surge. A surge arrester works by diverting the extra voltage into the earth wire, rather than flowing through the electronic devices, while at the same time allowing the normal voltage to continue along its path.
Not all surge arresters protect systems from lightning. While lightning current arresters (Class 1) are used to protect against direct lightning surge currents, surge arresters (Class 2) protect equipment from induced surges in electrical wiring. Surge arresters and lightning current arresters from DEHN offer reliable protection against these hazards.
For more information contact Paul van As, Surgetek, +27 (0)11 792 1303, info@surgetek.co.za, www.surgetek.co.za
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