The Hidden Problem That Could Ruin Your Business

Nathan Briggs, Technical Managing Director at leading power solutions

provider Advance Galatrek in Wrexham explores why mains transients are the

scourge of modern commerce and industry.

Totally invisible, but with devastating consequences - transients are the

scourge of modern electronics. Like a drop of water wearing away a stone,

they increase component stress until, one day, your systems will fail

without warning.

New research tells us that 88.5% of all power disturbances are caused by

transient voltages. And, even though you might think your data and

production processes are safe, the truth is that they will have very

little - if any - protection against this potentially disastrous phenomenon.

The damage caused by a series of transients can be catastrophic. Unlike a

simple power interruption, where downtime and possible data loss are the

worst consequences, transients can cause irreparable damage to sensitive

components such as servers, PABX phone systems and other critical devices.

On-Site Equipment Can Cause Component Damage

And don't think that it's just the occasional lightning strike that will put

your business at risk. Statistics show that four out of five transients are

caused by events other than lightning strikes. In fact, the vast majority of

damaging spikes arise from machinery situated either on or near the site,

with up to 20% of voltage spikes caused by sources as mundane as

photocopiers and fluorescent lights.

Worse still, conventional power protection solutions just aren't equipped to

cope with the massive energy spikes from a typical voltage transient. And,

with peaks as high as 20,000 volts from an average lightning strike, even a

single transient can easily destroy your sensitive computing and comms

equipment.

Built-In Surge Protection Not Adequate

You can't afford to rely on the surge protection that some power continuity

systems feature as standard, especially with modern computing and comms

applications. When power is restored after an outage, large transients are

often generated while the supply settles down - enough to cause irreversible

harm to critical electronic circuitry.

Critical Computing And Comms Equipment At Risk

The internal surge protection in most power protection equipment relies on a

single MOV (metal oxide varistor) device. But just a single voltage spike

can easily destroy these devices - leaving critical computing and comms

components open to devastation. Only a properly designed TVSS module can

offer completely reliable protection against this kind of damage.

Very few basic power distribution strips - and even fewer internal

protectors - actually contain both thermal protection and surge protection

in the same component. This means that often the only way of determining

whether a basic surge protector has failed is if the input fuse blows, or,

worse still, if the unit catches fire.

Many voltage surge suppression manufacturers make unrealistic claims about

their TVSS units, especially when they contain gas discharge tubes. But

hundreds of hours of research have proved that these units cause more

problems than they solve.

Because GDTs cannot effectively cap the voltage spike caused by a rising

waveform, this reduces the life of the metal oxide varistors also found in

these devices. And, because GDTs are an open circuit device, they provide no

indication of their inability to protect the load in the event of failure -

often with potentially disastrous consequences.

The Silicon Avalanche Diode Solution

Latest studies have proven that the best type of transient suppression

device is the SAD, or silicon avalanche diode. These semiconductors can

respond very rapidly to a transient voltage, and can be specified with

clamping voltages that range from a few volts to several hundred.

A matrix configuration is the perfect component structure for a TVSS device.

The individual components are arranged in separate assemblies - a design

that offers all the advantages of SADs and MOVs, as well as providing

additional reliability and crucial performance where they are most needed.

TVSS devices using matrix technology have an anticipated survival time of

100,000 strikes. Better still, even if the full transient were routed

through a single component in the matrix, the life expectancy would be

several hundred strikes.

So, to take a simple precaution that can save thousands in lost production,

downtime, data loss and equipment damage, fit TVSS devices to your critical

components, or live to suffer the consequences.

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