About Surge Protection By the specialist's EES.

Potential options

BS EN 62305:2006 establishes a common name for power and data protectors. These protectors are normally referred to as 'SPD' (Surge Protection Devices).

There are two types of SPD for both power and data on the market today. One is a parallel device, and the other is referred to as a series hybrid device.

One is connected in parallel with the circuit to be protected, and the other protector is installed between the incoming power and the load.

Because of cost factors, the parallel concepts are the most popular and probably make up 95% of the protectors marketed today. And if your application is KNOWN not to suffer greatly from transients then these are a good starting point. But there are hidden costs which you must be aware of that can make the total cost of ownership high. So, the questions you must ask are...

Can the device handle repeated high energy hits?
Will the device degrade? If so, how long until it needs replacing?

The use of two forms of protection and a series element for the series-hybrid system increases the price quite significantly, particularly for the higher current applications but the performance and reliability can far outstrip parallel types, making total cost of ownership less expensive.

In deed, some solutions like the SandwichBlock technology have a LIFETIME WARRANTY.