Brochure/Catalogue

Is surge protection worthwhile?

You can rely on luck or take precautions

The priority you give to surge protection depends on your

willingness to take risks! Perhaps you think ”it’ll never

happen to me”. You won‘t have lost anything, but you will

also have gained little, if nothing at all, and you run the risk

of a surge overvoltage at any time.

However, if you wish to be on the safe side, simply make

sure you include surge protection as part of your corporate

strategy. Such an investment will not only assure you of

operational reliability but could also vastly limit damage and

costs should a disaster strike.

Disaster from the sky

The violent forces of nature in the form of a thunderstorm

are a spectacular show. Potentially, this is a dangerous event

for human beings and is no less dangerous when it comes to

industrial and commercial premises and equipment.

While a person is usually only exposed to a risk of being

struck by lightning when it is in his or her immediate vicinity,

this is not the case with electrical equipment. Lightning

strikes up to 2 km away can damage electrical components.

In addition, electrical systems are considerably more

sensitive to the indirect electrical discharge a lightning bolt

can produce. Lightning strikes can generate secondary

voltages in anything that conducts and can therefore

seriously endanger the insulation of electrical equipment.

The number of lightning strikes per annum, in Europe alone,

are considerable. Lightning strikes are registered worldwide

and you can get the latest gures by visiting

www.wetteronline.de/eurobli.htm

Electric arc in a 10 kV switch

while being switched off

A brief introduction to surge protection

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