Which device is primarily responsible for diverting surge energy away from protected equipment at the service entrance?

Which device is primarily responsible for diverting surge energy away from protected equipment at the service entrance?

• A. SPD
• B. Lightning arrester
• C. Both
• D. Neither

Answer: (A)

A surge protection device is designed to take the energy from a transient and give it a controlled path to ground, keeping the voltage seen by connected equipment within safe limits. At the service entrance, this device is the primary defense against surges coming from the utility or from lightning, actively diverting that surge away from protected equipment. Lightning arresters, on the other hand, are mainly aimed at diverting especially large impulses associated with direct lightning strikes. While they do protect by shunting surge energy, they’re not optimized for the routine, fast transients that SPDs target, and they’re not typically the primary protection at the service entrance for all surge events. In a protection scheme, SPDs are the main line of defense at the service entrance, with arresters serving a complementary role in lightning scenarios.

A surge protection device is designed to take the energy from a transient and give it a controlled path to ground, keeping the voltage seen by connected equipment within safe limits. At the service entrance, this device is the primary defense against surges coming from the utility or from lightning, actively diverting that surge away from protected equipment.

Lightning arresters, on the other hand, are mainly aimed at diverting especially large impulses associated with direct lightning strikes. While they do protect by shunting surge energy, they’re not optimized for the routine, fast transients that SPDs target, and they’re not typically the primary protection at the service entrance for all surge events. In a protection scheme, SPDs are the main line of defense at the service entrance, with arresters serving a complementary role in lightning scenarios.