Lightning Surge Protection For Residential And Commercial Applications
Surge protection is the utilization of devices and systems to reduce the amount of damage that would occur if an unregulated flow of electricity was allowed to contact sensitive circuitry. The levels of protection that are able to be achieved are generally dictated by the necessity of monetary protection, and the highest end systems are mostly found in industrial applications or high end residences that have many thousands of dollars’ worth of computer equipment. The added necessity of keeping systems online and functioning from a business standpoint will also factor into the levels of surge protection that are chosen. The “industrial grade” surge protection devices are usually more robust versions of the same types of technologies that protect private residences, at least from a functionality standpoint.
Lightning protection is not the same thing as basic surge protection. If you have your computer plugged into a surge strip in your home or office, you are employing a low level of surge protection. Variations in the flow from the grid to your computer can slowly create circuit damage over time that is not as obvious as the immediate and acute damage caused by an unprotected surge. The small devices that you will employ in residential applications will mostly be determined by the value of the devices that you are protecting, most people not willing to pay thousands of dollars for a technologically advanced protection system to ultimately protect only a few thousand dollars worth of equipment. However today’s smart home systems that utilize high levels of technology to control aspects of your home, security and electronic functions can benefit from the inclusion of a higher end protection systems, more like those found within industrial installations.
Within commercial applications, surge protection systems must be technologically advanced and able to withstand the largest surges. Because the instances of lightning strike are more frequent within industrial installations due to their remote and unobstructed physical footprint, it would be foolish to believe that your structures will not ever be struck. When this happens, your equipment faces the very real danger of the surge that follows the strike coupling into attached cables or even traveling along parallel beams that have an ability to conduct electricity. The surge created by a lightning strike is at a much greater level but shorter duration than overvoltages caused by say switching components within a closed electrical system. Residential devices like surge strips are not designed to manage the high surges that come from lightning, and therefore will fail if a home or near vacinity is struck and not protected buy a robust surge protection device at the service entrance. Any device of that level would immediately be destroyed and provide no level of protection at all. Only industrial grade protection technology like that provided by Raycap devices will protect your investments against even the largest of surges, and keep your business functioning and online without interruptions. In a business environment, losses are not just found in equipment damage but also in downtime, so the avoidance of damage also assists in protecting the bottom line of the business as well. Whether it is residential or industrial surge protection that is necessary, Raycap has you and your business equipment covered.