Electrical Protection is crucial to the ongoing preservation of the sensitive components inside of computers and most high tech equipment that requires electricity through the power grid. Electrical protection devices will generally fall into two categories, those designed for consumer use within the home and those designed for industrial use to protect today’s complex and sensitive electronic equipment worth millions of dollars. Naturally, the levels of protection necessary for these two classes of equipment are vastly different. Raycap specializes in the manufacture and sale of electrical protection equipment that is designed for industrial use.
One of the first considerations in the discussion of electrical protection equipment is to differentiate between consumer products and industrial products. Electrical protection for a home computer or other consumer product will generally come in the form of power strips or slightly more advanced trip mechanisms that cut off the flow of power to equipment if a surge is detected. These types of “in-line” devices provide an extra level of surge protection above and beyond the circuit breakers which are installed into the electrical service box of the home. The breaker will cut the flow of power to a specific area of the home, but may provide a range that is too wide for specific computer equipment or more sensitive processors. While the circuit breaker systems are installed in order to trip and prevent surge-related fires, power strips with surge protection give users more peace of mind and catch the smaller surges which may not trip circuit breakers but would still damage equipment. For the home application, circuit breakers and power strips can provide a reasonably adequate level of protection as long as they are compliant to the UL 1449 safety standards for surge protective devices (they won’t blow up, explode or catch fire) and as long as the surge is not great enough to disable and continue on, leaving the equipment unprotected.
For industrial applications or facilities with a higher level of investment in technological machinery than a household, a higher level of surge protection is necessary. The losses which can occur as a result of data losses and service outages to customers are one of the aspects of protection that must be considered in these higher risk installations. Other losses, causing the need to replace technological equipment on industrial sites, can easily run into the tens of thousands of dollars as a result of a single strong surge. Resulting fires can also destroy structures and other business assets. With a greater level of power necessary to keep an industrial installation online comes a greater risks of surge-related losses.
Lightning strikes and switching errors are two of the most common forms of electrical events that produce surges with potentially damaging effects. A lightning strike either directly to a structure or to the power lines that feed a structure can produce a surge far greater than the safety ranges that are normally adhered to as power continually flows to the facility. The resulting spike can literally destroy all unprotected equipment in an instant. Switching errors occur when minor spikes of electricity happen on startup or shutdown of equipment, producing a degradation of the internal circuitry over time, and eventually shortening the lifespan of the technology. Raycap’s industrial electrical protection systems and products can protect your installation from instantaneous damage or that which takes place over time by regulating the power flow and stopping the surges. The technology is superior to our competition through a proprietary system that allows for functionality to remain intact even after a surge event. Contact our representatives today to learn more.
