The historical development of surge protectors

Surge protector, also known as lightning arrester, is an electronic device that provides safety protection for various electronic equipment, instrumentation, and communication lines. When a surge current or voltage is suddenly generated in an electrical circuit or communication line due to external interference, the surge protector can conduct the shunt in a very short period of time, thereby avoiding the damage of the surge to other equipment in the circuit. Surge protectors, suitable for AC 50/60HZ, rated voltage 220V/380V power supply system, to protect indirect lightning and direct lightning effects or other transient overvoltage surges, suitable for home, tertiary industry and industry Field surge protection requirements.

The most primitive surge protector, the claw-shaped gap, appeared in the late 19th century and was used in overhead transmission lines to prevent power outages caused by lightning strikes damaging equipment insulation. In the 1920s, aluminum surge protectors, oxide film surge protectors, and pill surge protectors appeared. Tubular surge protectors appeared in the 1930s. Silicon carbide lightning arresters appeared in the 1950s. Metal oxide surge protectors appeared in the 1970s. Modern high voltage surge protectors are used not only to limit the overvoltage caused by lightning in the power system, but also to limit the overvoltage caused by the operation of the system. Since 1992, the industrial control standard 35mm rail snap-on pluggable SPD lightning protection module represented by Germany and France has been introduced to China on a large scale, and later the integrated box-type power supply lightning protection combination represented by the United States and Britain also entered China.