Technology Increases Profitability 

Read More: https://www.raycap.com/what-are-lightning-protectors/ 

Technological advancements in the surge protection industry has been driving down the costs associated with numerous unrelated industries.  Industrial operators who utilize exposed equipment that is subject to lightning strikes can benefit from the technological advances that are found in the surge protection industry.  Industries like wind power production and telecommunications have an Achilles heel that creates costs which are difficult if not impossible to control.  This Achilles heel comes in the form of their exposed equipment being difficult to shield from the lightning strike damage without also compromising the service that they provide.  In the case of wind power, wind turbines need to be positioned in a way so that they are unobstructed and wind flow can move across the blades.  By providing shield of any kind, the wind flow is reduced thus creating significantly reduced amounts of power production.  This unobstructed aspect is good with regards to power production, and bad with regards to damage that is sustained as a result of lightning strikes.  Because the towers that hold the blades affixed to their top also provide the path of least resistance for lightning to reach the ground, we find that windmill nacelles and blades are often the place where lightning will strike.  In order to compensate for this problem, the blades themselves have been technologically improved to be more robust while also being made from component materials that can be replaced at a less expensive price that it would be to use more expensive materials, ultimately driving down the overall cost of production of a single unit of power.  In addition to cheaper materials we also find the technological advancements within the surge protection industry can help to drive down these costs as well.  This is found in the issue that exists after the lightning strike, when the power surge moves throughout the structure.  This power surge flows from component to component, utilizing the inter-connectivity that is necessary as a pathway.  The power surge can flow along the data lines as well as the power lines which join computerized equipment together.  This means that if one component is overwhelmed by the power surge and is directly connected to another component in an unprotected way, you can assume that the downstream equipment will also be destroyed.  Computerized equipment has difficulty handling power outside of the safe range, and faults will form within the circuitry that is involved when an excess of power comes in contact with it.  Through the installation of technologically advanced surge protection devices along these lines as well as throughout the structure along the pathways that power can flow, we can isolate damage and therefore reduce it.  By creating a situation where the excess power cannot move beyond the point of the strike, the equipment located further away can be salvaged, thereby reducing the costs associated with power production over time.  Lightning strikes cannot be predicted and their damage must be factored into the business plan as potential losses but the impact of each of these instances of loss can be reduced in order to increase profitability.  (more…)

Solar Surge Protection Devices

Read More: https://www.raycap.com/solar-surge-protection/

Green energy produced through solar farms is one of the most important developments in the last 50 years for the replacement of our existing antiquated fossil fuel power generation systems.  But solar farms which use photovoltaic (PV) systems to produce their clean energy – used by both consumers and industrial customers –  have the potential for serious physical damage to their installation construction.  Solar farms need to cover vast areas of land without being obstructed and require direct sunlight which needs to be gathered on the faces of the solar panels.  While wind, rain and generalized exposure to the elements is going to produce a certain amount of wear and tear every year, the  replacement costs are always increased by damage as a result of lightning strikes.  Due to the exposed nature of the solar panels themselves, it must be expected that a certain amount of replacement will be necessary due to lightning directly striking the panels, or having the subsequent surge as a result of an indirect strike couple into the system.  The expectation of total loss at the strike point generally goes without saying, but methods to reduce the amount of downstream damage that is caused by the power surge can be put in place that will reduce repair and replacement costs over time.  Both types of lightning events produce electrical surges that are (more…)

The Importance Of Adequate Surge Protection In Industrial Settings

Industrial applications make use of the most robust versions of equipment in all processes, simply due to the fact that equipment must be kept up and running at all times.  In industrial settings you will often find equipment within the harshest of environments, fully or partially exposed to the elements, and enduring ongoing wear and tear.  All the while industrial equipment is expecting to outperform residential equipment and remain working through any day or night.  Industrial equipment is tasked with far more arduous operation than anything that is being used in the residential space. It is responsible for keeping critical systems online for the ongoing function of whatever business they support.  Industries such as communications, power generation, transportation and others are responsible for keeping the connected world moving, and huge amounts of energy is expended to support that effort. (more…)

The Finest Industrial Surge Protective Devices

Raycap is a world leader in the design and manufacture of industrial surge protective devices.  Our specialization in the space has lead to numerous industry leading products which can be integrated into nearly any industrial application, and which are being utilized across the globe by industry leaders in a wide range of businesses.  Our premier SPD is the Strikesorb line, which features a unique technology that makes it superior to all competitors. Robust housings, advanced materials and maintenance free operation throughout the lifetime of the devices make them the logical choice for mission-critical assets in need of protection from lightning and grid-side power surges. (more…)

Protection From Lightning With SPDs

Many people may have never heard the term “SPD.” This is industry jargon for “surge protection device” and is used as a method to describe anything that has the ability to prevent excessive amounts of electricity from getting from one place to another if necessary.  Generally they are used as a failsafe to guard against the unexpected increase of current through power lines as a result of some incident like a lightning strike or internal switching error.  These unexpected fluctuations in the amount of electricity flowing through lines can damage circuitry in any component that is connected to that power source, with the issue being compounded in situations where components are interconnected and thus have the ability for the surge to flow from one component to the next.  In this type of incident, there is a possibility of the loss of entire systems, resulting in potentially millions of dollars of damage as well as lost business.  For these reasons, those with significant investments in equipment that can be damaged by this type of situation will generally seek out the best industrial SPDs available for their type of integration.  (more…)

Lightning Protection For Green Energy Industries

Green energy technologies are the methods through which power is produced for public consumption using fuel sources that are not burned or destroyed in the process.  For many decades, power was produced through the burning of fossil fuels in order to turn turbines that generate electricity.  This electricity is stored and distributed to consumers through a connection to a power grid.  Alternative energy production uses the same methods of distribution to the public, but is significantly different with regard to the manufacturing process.  Instead of destroying a fuel source that is in limited supply and creates harmful by-products such as air, water and soil pollution, green energy technologies produce power through the harnessing of a fuel source like wind or sun and then use that fuel source to turn turbines which generate the electricity.  The fuel sources have no cost and produce no harmful by-products, obviously making them a superior choice to fossil fuels. (more…)

Read More: https://www.raycap.com/electrical-vehicle-surge-protection/

With the dramatic increase in electrical vehicle (EV) production over the course of the last five years, the need for a more aggressive rollout of charging stations across developed nations has become imperative. There are more than five million electrical vehicles on the roads and this number increases significantly every year. The hinderances to more widespread electrical vehicle ownership   has come down to a few specific roadblocks involving mileage between charges and the availability of charging stations. Areas like California are putting forth aggressive measures to reduce emissions within their state by favoring electrical vehicles, and have recently started initiatives to completely eliminate gas-powered vehicles within the next few decades. As public sentiment moves more towards acceptance of electrical vehicles as the preferential form of transportation, companies like Tesla have been improving their customer experiences by creating their own solutions to charging station shortages and battery capacities. Through the development of innovative technologies that improve these products on an individual level, the path is cleared for other companies to follow and develop innovations as well. Collective efforts are fast-tracking the expected widespread adoption of electrical vehicles as the preferential mode of transportation. (more…)

Lightning And The Damage It Causes 

Read More: https://www.raycap.com/lightning-protection-for-cell-sites/ 

Natural occurrences in weather are one of the most significant causes of losses at industrial facilities every year.  This is because the equipment which is utilized in the processes has a certain amount of exposure to the potentially damaging effects of lightning strikes.  Because lightning strikes are not able to be predicted as far as their location or intensity, industrial operators find that the best defense is an offense.  Through the installation of systems which are designed to protect equipment by having it protected in the first place, industrial operators save the money that would be spent on repair and maintenance as well as downtime and outages.  This is accomplished in several different ways and through several different types of systems that are utilized onsite.  The first and most obvious is the lightning protection system consisting of overhead shielding and lightning rods.  These types of devices draw lightning strikes to themselves as opposed to having those lightning strikes hit less protected areas of the facility.  Through drawing the lightning strike to a structure that has been set up specifically for the purpose of being struck, the fires and explosions that happen at the strike point as well as the electrical discharge that happens afterwards are able to be diverted away from sensitive equipment and to ground.  These diversionary tactics are designed to protect components utilized in manufacturing or industrial process through the simple process of never having the equipment being hit in the first place.  Every year, millions of dollars that would be spent on repair and maintenance of components are saved by drawing the lightning strikes area away from the equipment.  (more…)

Undepleatable Sources Provide Clean Energy With Technology 

The finite nature of the fuel sources that are used to generate  energy is a major problem for all people on Earth, not just those in developed countries.  While there are definite issues with the costs to the environment that the burning of these fossil fuels has, the actual purchase price that must be paid for the fuel itself is tied directly to the supply, which is limited.  Simply put, there is only so much oil, coal, wood or other fossil fuels in existence.  Once these resources dwindle past a certain amount, there is no more “being made” that can extend the supply further.  Even through the limitations of supply would not be breached during any of our lifetimes given the current population increase rate, we must think about the future and put in place methodologies that make sense fifty, one-hundred or two hundred years in the future.  This is one of the primary arguments for the development of technologies that utilize sources that will not be easily depleted in power production, such as the sun and wind, and the fast adoption of these same technologies will benefit environmental impact issues as well.  Every day that fossil fuels are used to produce power is another day that gets us closer towards the supply being exhausted, and another day of environmental damage that more than likely cannot be reversed.  Through the ongoing adoption, advancement and development of improved production methods that use un-depleatable resources, we can stop the damage and create a better world for ourselves and our future generations. (more…)