The telecommunications industry involves a significant amount of high tech equipment installed in exposed settings.  The protection of this equipment from both natural and un-natural (vandalism) phenomenon is paramount to the protection of investment, as the replacement and repair of damaged equipment can be quite costly.  For this reason, along with the manufacture of the surge protection devices that keep sensitive telecommunications equipment safe from electrical surges, Raycap also manufactures enclosures that protect equipment from a host of potential issues.  These outdoor active cabinets (also known as street cabinets) are constructed of aluminum and are designed to feature dual ventilation ports within the wall construction, be resistant to corrosion and heat conductivity.  Overheating is a common issue when large amounts of equipment is housed within a protective structure, and Raycap street cabinets offer the greatest protection aspects available while still allowing for adequate heat exchange.  The cabinets are also lightweight and modular and can be designed specific to customer requirements. (more…)

While the debate over alternative energy rages on, with opponents to wind, solar and hydroelectric power production generally basing their argument on cost, new developments in the surge protection field may help end the discussion.  Alternative energy power production utilizes free fuel sources in order to produce electricity for public consumption, while traditional power production utilizes the burning of fossil fuels to achieve the same product.  While there is no debate that fossil fuel-based production of electricity has environmental impact that is greater than any impact created by green energy technologies, the debate continues based essentially on cost.  Most voters are willing to weigh the environmental impact of a production method against the costs that they will bear to have access to the product, and most will lean toward and support the cheapest method of production.  As technology produces more efficient methods of power production, the pendulum begins to swing in favor of alternative sources.

Windfarms produce electricity through the blades of windmills being turned by the blowing wind. This motion produces electricity and is transferred through components that are attached directly to the wind turbine tower via the electrical grid. The towers themselves need to be able to receive an unobstructed flow of wind across their blades in order to function properly, creating a risk of lightning strike by their very placement and physical makeup.  Being the tallest structure in an area without competing tall structures puts turbines at risk.  As the tallest structures in the area, turbines are always at risk of lightning strikes to the tower or blades, and it is expected that they will sustain a certain amount of damage as a result of a direct strike. However, the damage that is produced as a result of the surge of electricity that travels through the connected power lines toward the components used in the process can also be substantial. The control and production equipment is quite expensive, and damage to this equipment as a result of surges can range from simple destruction of equipment circuitry to fire and explosions. The damage is so commonplace that there have been instances of wind-power producers going out of business due to an inability to acquire adequate insurance.

The damage to the components as a result of lightning surges can be prevented and potentially even eliminated completely through the installation of industrial level surge protection devices at strategic points in the equipment chain. By breaking the flow of electricity across the lines and diverting the excess flow to ground when a surge takes place, the equipment downstream is protected and able to continue to function.  Prevention of this damage, which was built into the business plans of wind-power producers in the past as higher prices charged for power produced, enables wind farm operators to potentially drive prices down below fossil fuel production.  When the two methods of production reach equal costs, there is no reason to continue to debate the issue.  The public will generally support the cheapest method of production, and if that method is also the cleanest then the public benefits in two ways.

Raycap is a leading producer of surge protection devices for Photovoltaic (PV) systems that are used in both industrial power production as well as residential or semi-commercial markets. Solar panels and their associated control systems are highly susceptible to damage from both direct and indirect lightning strikes. The reason for this susceptibility is due to the physical makeup of the panels themselves (being large and flat with fully exposed surface areas), as well as the geographic placement of the panels in remote and unobstructed areas. This damage as a result of lightning strikes or surges, coupled into power lines running to and from the sites, can cause catastrophic failure of systems and result in high replacement and repair expenditures, as well as significant downtimes. Raycap products use fast acting metal oxide varistors (MOV) and other technologies to limit overvoltage to the attached equipment, interrupting electrical flow in order to protect circuitry from transients that are out of the safe range. Since 1985, the UL 1449 standard for SPDs has been the primary safety standard for surge protection. In years previous, the devices covered by the standard were known as Transient Voltage Surge Suppressors (TVSS.)  TVSS could not operate on circuits exceeding 600 V. Modern devices are now known as surge protective devices (SPDs) and may operate on power circuits not exceeding 1000 V. (more…)

There is a large division in the United States over the adoption of expanded alternative energy initiatives. While areas like Nevada are constructing billion dollar solar farms and California are reaping the rewards of wind-generated electricity, other areas of the country are quite resistant to the expansion of these types of technology. The main reasoning behind this push back is purely economic, that reduction on the reliance on coal and oil would eliminate jobs in those particular industries. This is a difficult subject, as many people in some parts of the country do not have the opportunities that other areas have, relying on these jobs in order to get by. For many in coal country, there simply are no other jobs to be had, and entire towns are being supported by coal mining. As residents of these areas see the progress being made in the areas of alternative energy, they see the potentials of their jobs being eliminated. (more…)

The Vulnerabilities Of Inferior Surge Protection Devices

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

Surge protection devices provide an invaluable level of protection against damage caused by power surges.  Every year, millions of dollars’ worth of equipment is damaged through electrical overages being allowed to overwhelm equipment, not to mention the losses involved with system outages as a result of those components being damaged.  Surge protection devices were developed for the specific purpose of providing a barrier of protection against this type of damage through their integration into the system that they are protecting.  The electrical flow enters the facility and must pass through the surge protection device before that piece of equipment will be impacted by the electricity.  Any fluctuations outside of the safe range are handled by the surge protective device through specific methods, either diverting the electricity to another place where it can be handled safely, cutting off electrical flow completely, or drawing it down in a way that will only allow the measured amount that  is considered safe to pass through.  As a result, as long as the surge protection device is operational, the flow of electricity is received by the device which is being protected will be within the safe range or none at all.  When a power surge is detected by the surge protection device, it will perform its function which ultimately results in the protected equipment not being impacted.  While this is considered by many to be an adequate level of protection, when the higher stakes of industrial systems are in play, any additional vulnerabilities must be dealt with in order to further protect the equipment and systems.  One of these vulnerabilities is the fact that most surge protection devices are switched off or are completely destroyed when they perform their duty.  In the case of a simple breaker system, once the breaker is tripped the flow of electricity is cut off until such time that the breaker is reset.  While this is a very simplistic example, the theory is the same when dealing with technologically advanced surge protection equipment.  Once the surge protection device has been rendered offline, the potential threat of a subsequent surge as a result of lightning strike or some other factor comes into play.  While the expression “lightning never strikes twice” might be well known, it is not accurate.  During inclement weather it is quite common for the surge that follows a lightning strike to have an impact on exposed systems within a region more than one time.  In addition to the potential losses as a result of damage once the systems are left unprotected, there is the additional issue of restoring the system to not only a protected status but also to functionality.  Once the system has gone off line it is no longer performing the function that it was designed to do, and in this case the losses mount.  The speed with which the system can be restored to the functionality it was designed for is critical for profitability, meaning that if the surge protection device can remain functional even after a surge, systems are improved and have longer up times.  Raycap strives to do its part to not only create surge protection devices that are the most reliable on the market, but also to improve our own products by continually addressing new challenges.