The challenge for engineers is determining the right level of protection for a particular
application, and then meeting a required specification in the most cost-effective way.
These requirements can include everything from "price is no object" and "failure is not an
option" to "we just want to meet the minimum requirement: Give me the lowest cost."
Different surge-suppression technologies have different costs and performance
characteristics. To further complicate the choices, a decision is often driven by mandates
from procurement about component costs. Engineers often pick a solution and hope
for the best, but decisions that are not well considered can have costly downstream
consequences in the form of high product failure rates and an unacceptably shortened
usable life.
To navigate this balancing act successfully, engineers need to understand application
specifications and fully consider the benefits and trade-offs of different surge-suppression
technologies. It all starts with an understanding of exactly how transient power surges can
damage electronic components.
"It is possible that the
lowest cost solution to
surge protection is the
best solution. But the
chosen solution might
not seem to be the lowest
cost until such problems
as failed unit returns are
taken into account."
Eddie Aho,
Power Supply Design Engineer,
KissAnalog
10
Surge Protection Is a Balancing Act
In addition to the variations of different types of surge-suppression components,
regulatory standards specify ratings for voltage and power dissipation under different
application scenarios.
