Eliminate power surge damage to inverter/house electronics
Hello to everyone,
After reading all about fuses & breakers against power surges, my solution
is as follows:
On the AC side (and this applies to BOTH the inverter AC input and AC output (for generator and/or grid tie systems) you should have both an AC surge arrestor and a surge capacitor. Most inverter damage is caused by surges on the AC side coming in through house or generator wiring. In many systems with a backup generator, the generator is located outside quite some distance from the inverter, and is a common hit point for lightning strikes or power surges from an unstable grid like the DR grid. It is well knowed and
documented that surges up to 800 VAC were detected over 110 VAC single
phase residential lines. The surge arrestor and the surge capacitor should be used on the AC portions.
The surge arrestor can handle 60,000 amps.
The surge capacitor can handle 100,000 amps.
For more info please read below:
Surges are comprised of two elements: voltage and quantity of charge. A very high voltage surge can damage equipment by breaking down the insulating medium between elements in a circuit or between those elements and a ground. The amount of damage will be determined by the current from the charge and/or current from the power source. In order to protect a circuit from damage, a surge arrestor must conduct sufficient charge from the surge to lower the surge voltage to a safe level quickly enough to prevent circuit insulation from breaking down.
All circuits can withstand a high voltage for a short time. The shorter the time becomes, the higher the tolerable voltage becomes. Consider a fifty thousand volt surge impressed on a two-hundred-forty volt apparatus having a surge arrestor connected parallel. The SURGE ARRESTOR will begin to conduct the charge, bleeding it out of the circuit. As the charge is removed from the circuit, the surge voltage will fall. As the charge approaches zero the surge voltage will approach zero. If this happens quickly enough the apparatus will be protected.
A SURGE CAPACITOR is a device designed to absorb surges and/or reduce the steepness of their wave front. A capacitor is able to absorb and hold a charge of electricity, returning it to the circuit at a later time. Since the surge capacitor is always connected to the power circuit, current flows at all times. When a surge occurs, added current flows to the capacitor thereby lowering the intensity of the surge voltage. The amount of current the capacitor can absorb depends on the size of the capacitor, and the amount of voltage pushing the current. If the surge is of a low current relative to its voltage intensity, the capacitor will absorb it. If the surge has high current, the capacitor cannot absorb it.
By contrast, our lightning arrestor takes no current from the line during normal operation. When a surge occurs, the arrestor turns on to provide a discharge path. When the surge is gone, the arrestor turns off. The arrestor will handle unlimited amount of current, although amounts exceeding 100,000 amps will generally damage the arrestor.
The main advantage of a capacitor is that there is no time delay in turning on as it always conducts. The disadvantage is that the amount of current it can handle is limited to a few amps, depending on the surge voltage. For this reason, an arrestor should always be installed with a capacitor to protect it from intense surges.
For two-wire (single 115 volt) systems and inverters you can tie the white and black wires to the same side, or the white to the input side, such as from a generator or grid, and the black to the output side. The Green should be well grounded. For dual inverter systems that operate from the grid for battery standby systems, you can put one on the input and one on the output.
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A special submersible well pump surge arrestor is also available.
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THIS BRIEF TEXT ABOVE INCLUDES SOME TECHNICAL TERMS WHICH MAY
NOT BE EASY TO UNDERSTAND. TO SUMMARIZE :
THE TWO UNITS JUST DESCRIBED ARE CAPABLE TO HANDLE BOTH GRID
SURGES AND LIGHTING STRIKES. DAMAGE FROM LIGHTING STRIKES ARE
COMMON TO HOMES WITH HIGH ALTITUDE. GENERALLY SPEAKING LIGHTING
STRIKES CAN OCCUR JUST ABOUT ANYWHERE. LIGHTING STRIKES WILL
DAMAGE GENERATORS, INVERTERS AND VARIUS ELECTRONICS.
FUSES AND BREAKERS DO NOT PROVIDE ENOUGH PROTECTION.
As posted under "wind turbines" thread, the above 2 products plus a lot
more renewable energy products will be available thru my upcoming website. This website is to be posted on DR1 very soon.
Georgios.