What is a Surge Arrester: Working Principle and Types | CHINT Blog (2024)

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What Exactly is a Surge Arrester?

A surge arrester, as the name suggests, is a device that protects other electrical equipment by “arresting” or discharging surge currents brought about by external (e.g. lightning) or internal (switching events) forces. It is also called a surge protection device (acronym: SPD), or less commonly, a voltage surge suppressor (TVSS).

Because they perform almost the same function on paper, most people usually confuse surge arresters with lightning arresters. However, while lightning arresters are installed outdoors, surge arresters are installed indoors.

How Do Surge Arresters Work?

All appliances and electrical devices have a fixed voltage range. This is a band of operating voltages that indicates the range at which a particular device is designed to safely operate within. If the voltage received by a device is higher than its recommended voltage range, the device may malfunction, its internal components damaged, and even blow up in a worst-case scenario.

So, why would there be a high voltage transmission in the first place? It’s important to note that voltage fluctuations happen all the time. These can be attributed to a variety of reasons like a corroded, loose connection in your house or building, wiring issues, poor power supply quality, interference, etcetera. Most of the time, these fluctuations do not exceed usual voltage ranges and are thus not a cause of worry. However, there might be instances wherein the voltage fluctuations can experience extreme dips and spikes brought about by lightning storms and switching overvoltages.

Surge arresters limit these overvoltages caused by lightning or switching surges (i.e. surges that occur when operating conditions in an electrical system are suddenly changed). They are not designed to protect against a direct lightning strike if ever one should occur.

But rather, they offer some degree of protection against electrical transients caused by lightning strikes when they occur within the general vicinity of the conductor. In this regard, surge arresters can also divert transients similar to those that come from lightning like those that come from a high voltage system’s faulty switching.

Whatever it is that the overvoltage is coming from, a surge arrester works the same way. It either clamps the surge to minimize the voltage that passes through its power system, or it redirects it to the ground. Some surge arresters on the market today come equipped with a “surge counter” component, which is a module that allows the device to capture the occurrence of a discharge.

Surge Arrester Types and Their Functions

Surge arresters are usually classified according to voltage rating and the amount of protection they can give to a network. Here are some of the common categories that surge arresters used in power systems are classified under:

1. Secondary Arrester

A secondary arrester is an arrester rated under 1000V. They provide another degree of surge protection in a home’s service transformer. A transformer’s failure rate is estimated to be around 0.4% to 1% (with 50 to 70% of failures caused by low-side surges). With a secondary arrester, this failure rate can be decreased significantly.

2. Station Arrester

When it comes to handling capabilities for high voltages, the station class arresters are the best devices for the job. Among all the arrester types, they are the ones who offer the best discharge voltages and have the capability to withstand the highest of faulty currents. These arresters are available in voltages ranging from anywhere between 3 kV to 684 kV. Station class arresters are also available in different cantilever strengths for various demanding applications.

3. Intermediate Arrester

Intermediate arresters are often used in small substations, or in cases where there’s a need for underground cable protection. They are also ideal for dry-type transformers. They can handle high discharge voltages and have a high current resistance capability, albeit at a lower magnitude than that of secondary arresters. Intermediate arresters are available with voltage ratings from anywhere between 3 to 120 kV.

4. Distribution Arrester

Distribution arresters have the lowest protective capabilities when it comes to arrester types. As such, they are only used in medium voltage networks, or in transformers that are elbow and cubicle-mounted.

In areas where there is high lightning activity, a heavy-duty type of surge arrester is used to cope with demands. Areas with less lightning can usually make do with normal duty arresters. In these cases, sometimes an arrester that is positioned on a riser pole is utilized; this way it can help stop the voltage surge that was observed by the equipment and the system’s underground table.

What is a Surge Arrester: Working Principle and Types | CHINT Blog (1)

CHINT Surge Arrester

CHINT Surge Arrester is the first line of defense when it comes to protecting your electric system and any other loading electrical apparatus from natural causes like thunderstorms and lightning and instantaneous switching overvoltages.

* CHINT Surge Arrester Series

The CHINT Surge Arrester Series is proven to protect up to 500 kV power transmission and distribution from overvoltages. Its 3-36 kV composite surge arresters have been KEMA certified, and have good sealing capabilities to ensure continuous and reliable operation 24/7.

* CHINT Surge Monitor and Discharge Counter

This is a module connected to a surge arrester that continuously measures any change of leakage. It can also record the discharging times of the surge arrester itself. This data can then be utilized to further improve the reliability of the power system during operation. This counter can be easily attached to the arrester and has low residual voltage to ensure that it does not affect the condition of the arrester it’s attached to.

Conclusion

A surge arrester will protect your appliances and electronic equipment from transient voltages and surges. If you live in an area where surges and lightning storms are common, it’s practically a must-have. The surge arrester works by diverting all of the extra voltage that would have gone to your home’s system down into the earth, thus saving your devices from potential damage.

It is usually placed. near the meter in your electrical system. If you want a reliable surge arrester that is KEMA-certified and has proven to be reliable, then go for the CHINT Surge Arrester series with the CHINT SURGE Monitor and Discharge Counter.

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What is a Surge Arrester: Working Principle and Types | CHINT Blog (2024)

FAQs

What is a Surge Arrester: Working Principle and Types | CHINT Blog? ›

Surge arrester

arrester
A lightning arrester (alternative spelling lightning arrestor) (also called lightning isolator) is a device, essentially an air gap between an electric wire and ground, used on electric power transmission and telecommunication systems to protect the insulation and conductors of the system from the damaging effects of ...
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Lightning_arrester
s work as a defense against voltage spikes by diverting the excess of voltage into the ground. It's best to think of an arrester like a street with two ways. During regular use, the arrester allows voltage to pass through the system as normal.

What is the principle of surge arrester? ›

A surge arrester is a protective device for limiting voltage on equipment by discharging or bypassing surge current. It prevents continued flow to follow current to ground and it is capable of repeating these functions as specified per ANSI standard C62.

What is the working principle of surge protection? ›

Surge protectors employ one of two devices to diffuse the unwanted voltage. The most common is called a metal oxide varistor (MOV). The MOVs are placed inside the surge protector to "absorb" any excess voltage and then act as a "shunt" resistor to divert the excess current to the ground.

What is the difference between a surge protector and a surge arrester? ›

A surge protector does not interrupt the flow of power. It simply diverts it until the voltage returns to normal. While surge arresters also do this, they often come equipped with a crowbar circuit that acts as a failsafe. If there is a malfunction, the crowbar will interrupt the current.

What is a Type 1 and Type 2 surge arrester? ›

Type 1 SPDs are typically installed on the line side of the service entrance, offering protection from external surges and direct lightning strikes. Type 2 SPDs are installed on the load side of the service entrance or distribution panels, providing protection from internal surges and indirect lightning strikes.

What causes a surge arrester to fail? ›

In the case of solid core arresters, moisture that has wicked into internal interfaces along either a portion or the complete length of the arrester can result in dielectric breakdown and failure.

How many types of surge arresters are there? ›

There are three classes of power system surge arresters: station-, intermediate-, and distribution-class. Station arresters provide the best protective levels but are more expensive. Insulation coordination is essential.

What is the working principle of lightning arrester? ›

The construction of lightning arrestors is different based on its type but the working principle is the same. It provides a low resistance pathway to the surges in the direction of the ground. When lightning strikes the structures, it passes into the ground by following the lowest resistance path.

What are the basics of surge protection? ›

A surge protector limits the voltage supplied to the electrical devices to a certain threshold, by short-circuiting current to ground or absorbing the spike when a transient occurs, thus avoiding damage to the devices connected to it.

What is the working principle of surge absorber? ›

SPC typically has a high resistance level and most of the electric currents do not flow (nor influence the electronic equipment). However; when surge (abnormal voltage) enters, the Surge Absorber instantly eliminates surge with low resistance to protect the electronic equipment.

What is Type 3 surge arrester? ›

Type 3 surge protection completes the protection concept. As device protection, it limits the last remaining pulses which could cause damage to the building installation or system. Type 3 SPDs are installed directly upstream of the end device.

What are the disadvantages of surge arrester? ›

Surge Protection Devices Have Voltage Limitations

Not all surge protectors can handle higher voltages. Basic ones can handle slight fluctuations. Too much exposure to high voltages may cause the surge protector to fail. Higher voltage surge protectors are available but may be more expensive.

What are the advantages of surge arresters? ›

Benefits of surge arrestors

Surge arrestors offer several benefits, including: Protection: Surge arresters protect electrical equipment from damage caused by voltage surges and spikes.

Which is better, type 1 or type 2 surge protector? ›

Although the value of T2 type surge protector looks larger, but their test waveforms are different, in fact, the energy of T1 is stronger. Therefore, the national standard GB50057-2010 requires the installation of a T1 type surge protector in the main incoming line, which is also the first-level surge protector.

What are the 3 different types of surge protectors? ›

The different types of surge protectors include whole-house surge protectors, surge protector strips and wall-mount surge protectors.

What is a Class 2 surge arrester? ›

Surge arresters of class II should limit all kinds of atmospheric induced surge voltages, switching overvoltages and also surges passed through surge arresters of class I in a multi-stage protection scheme (Fig. 2.1 and 2.2.). Typical protection levels of such surge arresters often do not exceed 1000 V or 1500 V.

What is the basic principle of lightning arrester? ›

The construction of lightning arrestors is different based on its type but the working principle is the same. It provides a low resistance pathway to the surges in the direction of the ground. When lightning strikes the structures, it passes into the ground by following the lowest resistance path.

What is the purpose of surge arrester breaker? ›

They are primarily used in low-voltage power distribution and information systems for protection against lightning overvoltages, operational overvoltages, lightning electromagnetic pulses, and electromagnetic interference pulses.

What is the working principle of metal oxide surge arrester? ›

Under the influence of large overvoltage surges, the resistance drops substantially. As a result, the leakage current increases sharply to tens of amperes or even tens of kiloamperes. At these higher current levels, the metal oxide arrester can release the excess energy from the transient surge.

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