Surge protection devices: how to choose them?

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As everyone knows, surge protection devices or surge protective

devices (SPD) protect electrical equipment against overvoltages caused by
lightning. That said, it is not always easy to distinguish between the various
technologies or know which to choose.

Let’s try to see things more clearly…

First of all, current standards define three categories of surge protective devices for
low-voltage electrical installations:

 Type 1: These devices are capable of discharging a very high lightning current,
generally from earth to the power distribution system. They are installed in the
main electrical switchboard when the building is equipped with a lightning
protection system.

 Type 2: These are surge protective devices designed to discharge the currents
generated by indirect lightning strokes and causing induced or conducted
overvoltages on the power distribution network. They are installed in the main
distribution switchboard.

 Type 3: These are surge protective devices installed as a supplement to Type 2

devices and are designed to reduce the overvoltage at the terminals of sensitive
equipment. Their current discharge capacity is very limited. As a consequence
they cannot be used alone.

What surge protective devices should be chosen and where should they be
installed?

Lightning protection should be approached from an overall viewpoint. Depending

on the application (large industrial plants, data centers, hospitals, etc.), a risk
assessment method must be used to guide in choosing optimal protection
(lightning protection system, surge protective devices). National regulations,
moreover, may make it compulsory to use the EN 62305-2 standard (Risk
assessment).

In other cases (housing, offices, buildings not sensitive to industrial risks), it is

easier to adopt the following protection principle:

In all cases a Type 2 surge protective device will be installed in the electrical
installation’s incoming-end switchboard. Then, the distance between that surge
protective device and the equipment to be protected should be assessed. When this
distance exceeds 30 metres, an additional surge protective device (Type 2 or Type
3) should be installed near the equipment.

Surge Protection Device location

When the building is equipped with a lightning protection system, a Type 1 surge
protective device must be installed at the incoming end of the installation. There
exist surge protective devices combining Type 1 and Type 2 in the same enclosure.

Surge Protection Device location

And the sizing of surge protective devices?

Then, the sizing of Type 2 surge protective devices depends mainly on the
exposure zone (moderate, medium, high): there are different discharge capacities
for each of these categories (Imax = 20, 40, 65 kA (8/20)).
For Type 1 surge protective devices, the minimum requirement is a discharge
capacity of Iimp = 12.5 kA (10/350). Higher values may be required by the risk
assessment when the latter is requested.

How to choose the protection devices associated with the surge protective devices?

Finally, the protection device associated with the surge protective device (circuit
breaker or fuse) will be chosen according to the short-circuit current at the place of
installation. In other words, for a residential electrical switchboard, a protection
device with an Isc < 6 kA will be chosen.

For office applications, the Isc is generally < 20 kA.

Manufacturers must provide the table for coordination between the surge
protective device and the associated protection device. More and more surge
protective devices already incorporate this protection device in the same enclosure.

Simplified selection principle (excluding full risk assessment)

 simplified selection principle

Didier Mignardot
Understanding Surge Protective
Device Ratings
How to know what kA rating to use

David Komm, Mersen | Jun 21, 2011

Selecting the appropriate surge protective device (SPD) can seem like a
daunting task, especially with all of the different types on the market today.
The surge rating or kA rating of an SPD is one of the most misunderstood
ratings. Customers commonly ask for an SPD to protect their 200A panel.
There¡¯s also a tendency to think that the larger the panel, the larger the kA
device rating needs to be for protection. As you will see in this article, this is
a common misconception.

When a surge enters a panel, it does not care or know the size of the panel.
So how do you know if you should use a 50kA, 100kA, or 200kA SPD? As
discussed in the IEEE standard C62.41, a building's wiring adds impedance
that will limit the surge current. The standard also states that 10kA devices
have been adequately limiting surge currents at the service entrance for
several years. Therefore, it's reasonable to say the largest surge that can
enter a building's wiring system is 10kA; however, a direct lightning
strike would produce a much larger surge. The extremely high voltage
associated with a direct lightning strike would most likely flashover,
thereby "self-limiting" the surge. So why would you ever need an SPD rated
for 200kA? Simply stated — for longevity.
 You might think: If 200kA is good, then 600kA must be three times better,
right? Not necessarily. At some point, the rating diminishes its return, only
adding extra cost and no substantial benefit.

Because most SPDs on the market use a metal-oxide varistor (MOV) as the
main limiting device, we can explore how/why higher kA ratings are
achieved. If an MOV is rated for 10kA and sees a 10kA surge, it would use
100% of its capacity. This can be viewed somewhat like a gas tank, where
the surge will degrade the MOV a little bit (no longer is it 100% full).

If the SPD has two 10kA MOVs in parallel, it would be rated for 20kA.
Theoretically, the MOVs will evenly split the 10kA surge, so each would take
5kA. In this case, each MOV has only used 50% of its capacity, which
degrades the MOV much less — leaving more left in the tank for future
surges.

Does this translate into surge "stopping power"? No. Just because an SPD
has two or 20 MOVs in parallel doesn't mean it will limit the 10kA surge
any better than a single SPD of the same rating. The main objective of
having MOVs in parallel is to increase the longevity of the SPD. Again, keep
in mind that this is subjective — at some point you are only adding cost by
incorporating more MOVs and receiving little benefit.

As mentioned before, panel size does not really play a role in the selection
of a kA rating. The location of the panel within the facility is much more
important. IEEE C62.41.2 defines the categories of expected surges within a
facility as (click here to see Figure):

 Category C: Service entrance, more severe environment: 10kV, 10kA surge.

 Category B: Downstream, greater than or equal to 30 ft from category C,
less severe environment: 6kV, 3kA surge.
 Category A: Further downstream, greater than or equal to 60 ft from
category C, least severe environment: 6kV, 0.5kA surge.

Category C devices can be used in Category B or A locations; however, a

Category C device would be excessive for a Category B location. Some
engineers may decide to specify Category C devices to have a conservative
design, but this will also only add cost while adding little to no benefit.

Although UL 1449 third edition does not use the exact category terminology
as IEEE C62.41.2, it does define three major types. Type 1 can be installed
on the line side of the service entrance overcurrent device (no extra
overcurrent device needed), which is similar to Category C. Type 2 is
similar to Category B and can only be installed on the load side of the
service entrance overcurrent device. Type 3 and Category A are point of
utilization devices like a surge power strip that is plugged into a wall outlet.
While UL types and IEEE categories are similar, they are not 100%
interchangeable. UL Type 1 devices are often used in Type 2 locations. The
benefit of doing this is that there is no extra overcurrent device needed.

How do you know what kA rating to use? The IEEE categories provide a
good base for selecting kA ratings. There are many "right" sizes for each
category, but there must be a balance between redundancy and added cost.
Qualified judgment should always be used when selecting the appropriate
kA rating for an SPD.

Komm is the technical services supervisor for Mersen in Newburyport,

Mass. He can be reached