How surge protectors Work

We will try herebelow to explain the technical part so to be easy understandable even by non-specialists.

The easiest way to protect an appliance against high voltage is to switch it immediately off when the voltage begins to exceed its standard values. It could be implemented by a relay. The necessary break time of a relay is about hundredths of the second. In most cases, the time during which a peak generated by a lightning or a current rush reaches tenfold and even hundred-fold higher value than the standard is in the order of thousandths of the second. That is 10 times quicker than the time necessary to a relay to cut out.

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All said shows that the described method of protection is applicable only for slow voltage changes. Most of the electronic appliances have a protection exactly of that kind and a lot of people are mistaken that it would help while arising of overvoltage generated by current rushes, lightning, etc.

To solve the problem the surge protectors are so constructed that they instantly discharge the surplus energy of the appliances where it is dispersed without causing damages or at worst to be damaged only the protection device. It is done by quickly acting components that resist great loadings for a short period, and while the voltage is in standard values they do not disturb the normal work of the appliance and do not consume electricity. Such types of components are gas discharge tube surge arresters, metal-oxide varistors, special diodes, etc.

Sono S.B.Co. uses for its surge protectors gas arresters produced by the Japanese company “Sankosha”, metal-oxide varistors – by “Siemens”, “Uppermost”, and others, which guarantee their protection quality.

With all that the technical question is not settled but the practical decisions are problems of the specialists, so we tackle them seriously.