Surge Protective Devices Awareness

Surges, or transients, are brief overvoltage spikes or disturbances of a power waveform that can damage, degrade, or destroy electronic equipment within any home, commercial building, or industrial and manufacturing facilities.

Transients can reach amplitudes of tens of thousands of volts. Most equipment is designed to handle minor variations in their standard operating voltage. However, surges can be very damaging to nearly all equipment.

A typical building experiences multiple power surges every day.

In a 2017 Surge Damage Survey, ESFI surveyed electrical designers, electrical planners, and electrical engineers who worked in designing or renovating electrical systems in industrial facilities, healthcare facilities, and IT centers. Surge protection has been required by the National Electrical Code (NEC) since 2014, but ESFI’s survey results revealed that about one-third of clients who declined surge protection for their facilities did so due to a lack of concern about surges, while another third of clients believed that current available surge protection technology is inadequate.

Featured Resources

Workplace Safety

Understanding Surge Protective Devices Survey

In 2021, the Electrical Safety Foundation International surveyed industrial and commercial facility professionals, including managers, owners, building engineers, heads of maintenance, and related occupations. These

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Workplace Safety

What are Surge Protective Devices

Surge protective devices protect against downtime, improve system and data reliability, and reduce electrical failures. Electrical surge damage can be experienced in a single event

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Workplace Safety

What are Power Surges

Surges, or transients, are brief overvoltage spikes or disturbances of a power waveform that can damage, degrade, or destroy electronic equipment within any home, commercial building,

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Home Safety

Home Surge Protective Devices

Surge protection is required by the 2020 National Electrical Code. Whole home Surge Protective Devices protect your electronics from power surges, ensure power quality and

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Brought to you by the support of the NEMA 5VS Section.