Surge Protection Solutions
Power surges: Main cause of failure of electronic equipment
Overvoltages are the main cause of failure of electronic devices: Variable speed drives, inverters, stabilized power supplies, programmable logic controllers, supervision screens and human-machine interfaces, etc.
Although less frequent than voltage dips and interruptions, their effects are much more damaging and destructive.
Unfortunately, most building operators and maintenance managers in industry take a fatalistic approach to these phenomena, often blaming the reliability of electronic equipment as the cause of the failures.
They do not realize that it is often easy to prevent these problems or to solve them permanently, by installing adapted solutions of protection against surges.
Where do surges come from?
Contrary to popular belief, 80% of transient power surges originate inside our installations, and do not always come from the outside network.
Power surges can be classified into three categories: transient power surges that typically last less than 1 millisecond (a few hundred microseconds), temporary power surges that last between 10 milliseconds and several seconds, and permanent power surges that can last from several minutes to several hours if not detected and corrected quickly.
Main causes of power surges:
Transient overvoltages
- Lightning strikes on or near the structure
- Switching of switches and contactors
- Capacitor switching,
- Current chopping, for example,
- The restoration of current in a line (ferranti effect),
- Switching of power electronic components
- Electrostatic discharges
- …..
Temporary power surges
- single fault between a phase and the ground,
- sudden load drops (v = L di / dt)
- sudden power interruption
- powering up a large capacitor bank ….
Long-term power surges
- poor sizing of the power cables,
- loads in the lines, lower than expected,
- malfunctioning of the on-load regulators of the source substation transformers
- ….
Economic impact of surges
Whatever the cause of power surges, their effects can be devastating and involve very heavy financial losses for users. The first equipment to be destroyed by power surges are electronic ballasts, variable frequency drives, inverters, and other power electronic equipment.
A power surge can also disrupt electronic controls, such as electronic speed controllers, which can trip due to their internal protection circuits. Some power surges can also degrade insulation materials and thus shorten the life of electrical equipment.
OUR OVERVOLTAGE PROTECTION SOLUTIONS
Surge protection solutions are as varied as surges themselves. Here is a non-exhaustive list:
- Surge protectors and lightning arresters (LV and HV)
- Line inductances
- Shunt capacitors
- Automatic compensation batteries
- Electronic VAR generators (SVG)
- Tension stabilizers
- Uninterruptible power supplies on-line with double conversion
- Overvoltage relay (prevention)
- Etc.
The solutions are chosen according to the type of phenomenon detected (transient, temporary or permanent overvoltage), its origin but also according to the cost of the solution.
Our expertise, at your service
Conducting a detailed network analysis, which includes an evaluation of the voltage quality at critical points of your installation, combined with a thorough analysis of your installation and its environment is a prerequisite for determining the best solution to effectively address this type of phenomenon.
The solutions we deploy can be as rich and varied as the surge phenomena.
Some are “corrective” solutions that are installed after the damage to the installation has been discovered, and allow for the correction of a problem that caused the surge. Others, are rather preventive, and allow to prevent the danger and to protect the installation even before the phenomenon occurs.
Moreover, it is often wise to combine several solutions at the same time, in order to eliminate or at least reduce the risks related to power surges.
We assets:
- A proven expertise in the field and a know-how recognized on the market
- The guarantee of a QUALIFOUDRE certified provider
- More than 100 missions carried out for over 13 years with great success
- State-of-the-art measuring equipment (class A) and in large numbers: Circutor, A-Eberle, Fluke
- Strong partnerships with the world’s leading manufacturers of surge protection solutions
- Remote monitoring and power monitoring services
- Guarantee on the result – double guarantee on the material