SUP4 Surge Arrester Protector

What is the difference between a surge protector and a surge arrester?

A surge protector and a surge arrester both serve to protect electrical equipment from voltage surges, but they differ in their applications, design, and where they are typically used.
To put it simply

Surge Protector: Used in low-voltage systems for electronic devices.
Surge Arrester: Used in high-voltage systems for protecting electrical infrastructure.

They both safeguard against voltage surges, but their scale and specific applications differ greatly.

Surge Protector

Surge protectors are commonly used in low-voltage systems, especially in residential or commercial buildings. They protect sensitive electronics like computers, TVs, and appliances from voltage spikes caused by power surges or lightning strikes.

What is a voltage spike caused by power surges?

Voltage spikes caused by power surges refer to sudden and brief increases in electrical voltage that occur in an electrical circuit. These spikes are typically much higher than the normal operating voltage of the system and can last for a fraction of a second, but they can cause significant damage to electrical and electronic devices.

Here’s a breakdown of what causes these voltage spikes and their impact:

1. Power Surge Overview:

A power surge, also known as a transient voltage, is a temporary increase in voltage in an electrical system. While normal voltage levels for household appliances in many countries are around 120V or 240V, a power surge can cause the voltage to momentarily rise to hundreds or even thousands of volts.

2. Causes of Voltage Spikes from Power Surges:

A direct or nearby lightning strike can inject a massive surge of electricity into power lines, which leads to voltage spikes traveling through electrical wiring and into homes or businesses.

Power companies may switch between power sources or perform maintenance on the grid. This switching can cause brief but intense increases in voltage, leading to spikes in the system.
Appliances with motors or compressors, such as refrigerators, air conditioners, and elevators, can cause a sudden increase in demand when they turn on or off. This switching action can create minor surges or spikes that propagate through the electrical system.
When power is restored after a blackout or outage, the initial rush of electricity can lead to voltage spikes.

3. Effects of Voltage Spikes:

Voltage spikes can severely damage or shorten the lifespan of sensitive electronic components, such as computers, televisions, routers, and other digital devices. These devices often rely on steady, controlled voltages and are highly susceptible to voltage fluctuations.
Prolonged or repeated exposure to voltage spikes can cause insulation breakdown in wiring or create overheating in electrical equipment, potentially leading to fire hazards.
Voltage spikes can disrupt the normal functioning of electronic devices, causing data corruption, system crashes, or operational interruptions in industrial systems.

Surge protectors work by diverting excess voltage away from the protected devices, typically by clamping the voltage to a safe level.

They often contain components like metal oxide varistors (MOVs) that absorb and dissipate the surge energy.

Under normal voltage, the MOV maintains high resistance, but when the voltage exceeds a certain threshold, its resistance decreases rapidly, diverting excess voltage to the ground, thereby protecting electrical equipment from damage.

Surge protectors primarily handle transient voltages caused by events such as utility grid switching. These transients are short-lived but can have high voltage peaks. If transients occur frequently, the MOV may degrade and eventually fail, which is why regular checks and replacements are necessary.

Surge Arrester

Surge arresters are used in higher-voltage systems, such as utility power distribution networks and industrial applications, to protect transformers, switchgear, and other infrastructure from lightning strikes and switching surges.

A key component in a surge arrester is the gas discharge tube, Under normal conditions, the GDT remains non-conductive, but when a surge (such as from lightning) exceeds the threshold voltage, the gas inside the tube ionizes, creating a low-resistance path to divert the surge current to ground.

Modern surge arresters often use Metal Oxide Varistors (MOVs), especially in Metal Oxide Arresters (MOA). These nonlinear resistors, such as zinc oxide (ZnO), can quickly reduce their resistance to divert surge currents.
Once the surge subsides, the resistors return to a high-resistance state, allowing the system to operate normally.

Surge Protector and Surge Arrester Differences in Protection Mechanisms

The protection mechanisms of Surge Protector and Surge Arrester are also very different.

Some surge protectors offer multi-stage protection, typically categorized into primary, secondary, and tertiary protection.

The primary protection absorbs large surge energy, the secondary protection handles the residual surge, and the tertiary protection safeguards sensitive electronic devices.
This layered design is more effective in protecting equipment from surges of varying magnitudes.

Surge arresters are designed to provide continuous protection in high-voltage systems, dealing with substantial surge currents caused by events like lightning strikes. The capacity of these devices can reach thousands to tens of thousands of amperes.

SUP4 Surge Arrester Protector

Scope of application

SUP4 series C-level surge arrester protectors are suitable for photovoltaic power generation systems. When a surge overvoltage occurs in the system due to lightning strikes or other reasons.

The protector immediately turns on quickly within nanoseconds，introducing the surge overvoltage into the ground, thereby Protect the electrical equipment on the dot network.

The SUP4 series has a plug-in structure, which can be quickly replaced after the module fails: When the lightning protection module fails, the color of the indicator window changes from green to red, and at the same time, an alarm signal is sent to the remote alarm device connected to the product’s remote signaling terminal.

Application Environment

• The normal range of ambient air temperature is not higher than + 40℃ , not lower than-25 ℃, and the relative humidity is not greater than 95% ;
• The altitude of the installation site shall not exceed 2000 meters;
• Pollution level 3 ;
• There is no explosion hazard medium , and there is no gas and dust( including conductive dust ) in the medium which will be corrode metals and destroy insulation.

Technical Parameter

Shape and mounting dimensions

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