Schneider Electric AC Line Surge Protection
Schneider Electric offers a comprehensive range of surge protection devices (SPDs) designed to safeguard electrical systems, equipment, and sensitive electronics from voltage spikes and transient overvoltages. These surges can be caused by lightning strikes, power grid switching, or equipment start-up and shutdown, posing serious risks to both residential and industrial applications. Schneider Electric's surge protection portfolio is engineered to mitigate these risks by diverting excess voltage away from connected equipment, ensuring system reliability and reducing the likelihood of costly downtime or damage.
Their surge protection solutions include both Type 1 and Type 2 devices, which are used at different points within an electrical distribution system. Type 1 devices are typically installed at the main service entrance to handle external surges, such as those from lightning or utility switching. Type 2 devices are used at sub-panels or downstream circuits to provide localized protection for specific equipment or systems. Schneider Electric’s SPDs are built with advanced thermal protection and fail-safe mechanisms, ensuring safe operation even during extreme surge events. These devices are commonly used in commercial buildings, industrial plants, data centers, and healthcare facilities, where uninterrupted operation is critical.
More Information about Schneider Electric AC Line Surge Protection
Schneider Electric also integrates surge protection into its broader electrical solutions, including panelboards, switchboards, and critical power systems. Their SPDs are compatible with EcoStruxure, Schneider's IoT-enabled platform, which allows for remote monitoring and predictive maintenance of surge protection assets. This integration helps facility managers track surge events, monitor device health, and proactively replace aging protection units before failure occurs. By offering reliable, scalable, and intelligent surge protection, Schneider Electric helps ensure the safety and performance of modern electrical infrastructures.
Surge Protection Basics
What causes power surges?
Lightning strikes are one of the most common causes of power surges and can affect an electrical system even if the strike occurs miles from the electrical source. Conductors buried underground can still transmit the energy of the strike to electrical equipment located indoors. Lightning rods and other grounding equipment can help, but do not completely eliminate the risk.
Switching equipment such as motors, transformers and other equipment can cause a sudden change in load, power loss and disconnection of circuit breakers. This sudden switching can cause overvoltage, leading to power surges. The closer the switching occurs to the electrical system, the more threat it will pose to the equipment.
Operations that a user performs can cause surges, but typically have a very short duration. Examples include: starting a motor, opening circuit breakers and welding equipment.
What is the best way to stop power surges?
By using transient surge suppressors, the problems associated with most transient surges can be eliminated. They provide protection by either blocking or shorting the voltage over its operating limit to ground, protecting circuits downstream of the suppressor. The best way to approach this is in tiers.
Tier 1 – The protection is closest to the incoming power source. This is the main protection for a particular location.
Tier 2 – This is in an area that will be protecting multiple devices that have branch protection. An electrical control panel would be an example of this type of application.
Tier 3 – Individual protection. In the case of an industrial control panel, this would be protection for each instrument entering the panel.