17
Understanding Surge-Suppression Technologies
• Response time. The time it takes a surge-protection component to begin protecting
after it is subjected to a power surge, typically measured in nanoseconds (ns) or
microseconds (μs). Different surge-suppression technologies provide different
response times; it is important that the surge-protection solution respond fast enough
to prevent a voltage spike from damaging the protected circuit.
• Maximum surge current. The highest amount of current a surge-suppression
component is rated to conduct so that the other operational specifications are met
and the expected service life is attained.
"To overcome the
issue of overvoltages,
engineers use
components that
short-circuit the
voltages that exceed
their working range.
However, there are still
problems if the right
precautions are not
taken to connect to
the main voltage."
Ivan Fumagalli,
Project Manager,
Robertshaw
Industrial equipment requires far more protection than consumer
technology: it's exposed to higher surge environments and requires a
much higher cost to be protected.
Wayne Dossey
Strategic Marketing Engineer, Bourns, Inc.
Table 2 lists the most common surge-suppression technologies and their general
operational characteristics.
