Two industries which see some of the largest benefits from DC surge protection are solar and telecommunications. Although any industrial application which utilizes DC power current setups will be benefited by the installation of SPDs to protect the levels of current running to sensitive equipment at all times, there are several unique characteristics to these industries that make them especially susceptible to lightning strikes which is one of the leading causes of damage and as a result replacement costs to the business. Raycap is a leading producer of DC surge protection products and systems, and offers numerous configurations of its Strikesorb surge protection line, which provides the optimum level of DC power protection from electrical surges produced by lightning strikes.
The telecommunications industry has seen increases in capital expenditures (CapEx) and operating expenses (OpEx) as the demand for faster speeds, more coverage and increased data transfer continues to rise. Customers are no longer satisfied with reliable connections and moderate speeds, and are now demanding 100% connectivity rates and data speeds as fast as wired connections. As more and more users turn to their phones as the primary source of their internet connection, the demands for capacity as well as unparalleled connectivity rates become more necessary. Telecommunications operators can tell you that outages and coverage problems as a result of cell towers being knocked offline by lightning strikes is a very real problem, one that results not only in replacement costs but lost revenues as customers consider other options. Telecommunications operators must strive for protection of their customer bases by assuring that equipment does not go offline for even a second, and this increases the demand for Raycap industrial protection solutions in the DC power space. While damage from direct strikes to RRH units within cell towers is expected, the system being knocked offline by a surge and subsequent protective action form an SPD poses damage in the form of lost revenue. Even if equipment damage is not sustained, the outage period while the tower remains offline creates unhappy customers. The time it takes a crew to replace or reset SPDs which have done their job must be minimized, which is why Raycap’s Strikesorb products are the best solutins in these applications. Strikesorb products can withstand multiple instances of lightning strikes to towers and surrounding structures without needing resetting or replacement. This assures that the communication between the RRH and BBU inside of the tower does not stop even after a lightning strike, keeping the system online and the network accessible to customers at all times.
The solar industry also faces issues with regard to lightning strikes and outages in production as a result. In PV (photovoltaic) setups, large expanses of equipment combined with remote locations produce a perfect environment for lightning strikes, in addition to the damage caused by inclement weather. Inverters within the solar farm are easily damaged by surges in DC current, making the installation of SPDs within those inverters crucial to maintaining uptimes and minimizing replacement costs as well. Installation of Strikesorb technology will assist both industries in extending not only equipment lifespans, but also customer satisfaction levels.
