New Industry Products

Type 2 Surge Protection for Power Distribution and Branch Circuits

June 24, 2019 by Scott McMahan

Littelfuse, Inc. announced the launch of its SPD2 series of Type 2 surge protection devices. The company notes that power surges or transient over-voltage can damage components and drive added costs for repairing or replacement as well as causing unplanned downtime. To prevent these incidents, the SPD2 series, utilized at power distribution or branch circuits, safeguards components from surges. It does this by limiting the fault current to a load or the unit being protected.

The SPD2 series is DIN-rail mounted for electrical cabinets and comes in a wide range of operating voltages including dc power for solar applications. The product is suitable for power distribution, electrical loads, industrial controls, communications, and computers as well as HVAC or medical equipment.

In power distribution, the SPD2 series can be used for load centers, transformers, and generators.  With HVAC and medical equipment, the SPD2, can be used for electrical loads, motors, fans, heaters, blowers, and ballasts. SPD2 is suitable for industrial controls such as programmable logic controllers, motor controls, variable-frequency drives, proximity sensors, barcoding equipment, and machine vision systems. Computers and communications equipment such as LANs, WANs, Intercoms as well as fire, security, and building

management systems can also utilize SPD2.

"The surge protection device market is growing due to the increasing use of electronic equipment and the need to safeguard it from power fluctuations," stated Peter Kim, Vice President and General Manager, Littelfuse Industrial Business Unit. "To increase safety and avoid the high costs incurred from equipment downtime, more companies realize the return on investment that SPDs provide and are adopting or designing in these products."

The SPD2 can clamp and withstand high-energy transients to prevent disruption, downtime, and degradation or damage to equipment. Its thermal protection virtually eliminates catastrophic failure

Each part is both UL Recognized and IEC-compliant to reduce inventory and support global usage. Module replacement status can be quickly determined with its visual life indicator.

A compact footprint increases electrical panel design flexibility. An interlocking tab mechanism enables the DIN rail enables it to withstand vibration, and an SPD type and voltage-coded plug prevents the module from being placed in the wrong base, thereby eliminating the risk of improper protection.

"According to the Electrical Safety Foundation International, equipment being turned on or off causes 60 to 80 percent of industrial power surges within a facility," offered Richard Dale, Product Manager, Littelfuse Industrial Business Unit. "These disruptive, everyday occurrences can be prevented by using an SPD with higher nominal discharge current—20kiloAmperes—to avoid unplanned disruptions or stoppages resulting in unfilled orders, missed deadlines, unreliable systems, and or dangerous situations."

Features

  • Capability to clamp and withstand high-energy transients
  • UL and VDE-IEC compliant in single part number
  • Interlocking tab mechanism secures module to withstand vibration
  • No additional over-current protection devices required in UL applications
  • SPD type and voltage-coded plug-in module
  • Compact footprint Increases panel design flexibility
  • Visual life indicator
  • Luggable module
  • Thermal protection
  • IP20 protection rating