Industry has evolved over the years beyond the point that many could have predicted 100 years ago. What was once believed to be the cutting edge of technology is now considered old-fashioned or obsolete, and as technology improves our advancements come even faster. Technology itself creates faster evolution of systems, and ultimately the benefits that those systems produce create more technological innovation. Just 30 years ago the concept of a home computer was beyond the scope of rational thought, and today we could not imagine life without them. As technology speeds forward and becomes more advanced, the need to protect that technology becomes more critical. Surge protection as a concept has not changed much in 100 years, essentially relying upon a method of stopping electrical flow by either diverting it or creating a gap it cannot cross, but the technology of how that is achieved has moved as fast as any other technology. The days of the circuit breaker may not be gone, but the methods of protecting systems that rely upon regulated electrical flow have advanced significantly.
The technological advancement of surge protection systems can be found in multiple areas, primarily in the components that make up the SPD itself, and the ability of the SPD to react faster and be restored to functionality quicker. The materials with which the SPD is constructed will determine how well it can survive a surge event itself. In the past, surge protection devices were destroyed in order to create the necessary gap, and eventually they evolved to a point of being able to be reset. This resetting process took time and manpower, and through the creation of more robust surge protection devices with upgraded housings and made of better materials including internal components able to withstand the potential damages they are exposed to daily, the devices themselves needed less attention. Once the technology had evolved to the point of the devices themselves not needing to be reset after a surge incident, we have found that the productivity of systems they protect has increased. Through the simple process of eliminating downtimes caused by surge protection systems doing their job, there is a greater level of productivity achieved, while at the same time money is saved that would have been spent on repairs and technician time. With every micro-second that can be shaved off the process of a SPD being triggered, there are millions of dollars in damages avoided. With every minute that is saved by not having a complicated resetting process involved in systems being returned to functionality, millions of dollar’s worth of products and services are created. Many people think that technological advancement of the systems that create products and services themselves are what is bringing us into the future. In reality it also has a lot to do with the protection systems that allow these configurations to function without damage or interruption that is moving us forward. We are entering a technological phase that will see new and improved devices coming online every day, and in the background the surge protection devices will be allowing them to do the job they were created for.
