Surge ProtectionThe typical popular home application and the problems they bring

• This presentation will show the faults in MOV designs

•Show the advantages of Phoenix contacts offer

•Visual evidence from the web of real life situations

Further case against the MOV

Fowler Associates Investigates Surge Protector Fires" Surge protectors are sacrificial, they need to be replaced after they have protected against a large surge" How does one know if their surge protector is no longer functioning? Are malfunctioning Surge protectors a hazard?   The answers are frightening. Surge protectors typically have a device in them called an MOV ( Metal Oxide Varistor). These devices once "surged" will fail at lower and lower voltages. Since the shunt the current around the devices you wish to protect, eventually they are shunting too much current and become overheated. Old surge protectors had no way of letting you know if they had been sacrificed. And, yes, they are a hazard. Many fires are started by old surge protectors which have been damaged by a surge

What technologies exist to combat power surges?

Metal Oxide Varistors

• Undesirable high frequency characteristics

• Performance decays with use

• Increase in leakage currents

• Voltage dependent resistor

• Predictable overvoltage protection response

• Wide range of voltage protection levels

Nanosecond response to spikes

Mores cases Lessons Learned Issued in 2000Power Strip Overheats and Causes FireDate: January 13, 2000Identifier: 2000-RL-HNF-0002Lessons Learned Statement: Surge protection devices in some older model multi-outlet power strips can overheat and create a potential fire hazard. Discussion of Activities:On August 28, 1999, a Kensington Power Tree 20, model # 62162 multi-outlet power strip with surge protection failed and started a small fire in a trailer at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC). This graphic shows the damaged power strip.

More casesInvestigators say an overloaded surge protector started a fire that gutted the Candlelighters Donation Center off Montana in East El Paso.An employee was closing up around 7:30 last night when she saw flames pouring from an office cubicle and called 911.Firefighters say her quick action kept the fire from spreading to other parts of the building.r.Investigators say too many devices were plugged into the surge protector causing it to overheat. Damage is estimated at around $35,000.Firefighters say surge protectors are for temporary use only.

More casesDateline: December 20, 2007Safety device caused  Sam Hill's fireA faulty surge protector is being blamed for the December 8 blaze that destroyed Sam Hill’s BBQ. Clarendon Fire Marshal Kelly Hill said an investigation last week by his office and the state fire marshal’s office concluded that the fire started with a common safety device – a surge protector located under the counter where the cash register was. “It was a high burning fire,” Hill said. “There was a lot of paper goods and Styrofoam cups under there that just acted like gasoline.” Hill urged people to check their surge protectors at home and work, especially during this holiday season when so many folks have Christmas lights plugged into them. “A lot of people are under the impression that these things last forever,” Hill said. “But if you have one that keeps tripping or has taken a direct hit from a surge, it needs to be replaced.” A blinking light on a surge protector could also be a sign that it is weak, Hill said. The owner of the restaurant said she thought the surge protector in question had been there since she bought the restaurant in 2001, Hill said. “Just because you have a surge protector, it’s not a done deal. You need to keep an eye on them.”

More casesI was outside on the front porch swing having a smoke and reading in my book. Madelyn was in the living room watching TV. I decided I needed to go inside and sweep the floors. Upon opening the front door I started toward my office to get the broom and smelled smoke. I was just walking by the small closet there and heard a popping sound as well. I opened the closet to see smoke and flames.I yelled at Madelyn to get outside, I then proceeded to pull a few things out of the closet, a box that had one of Madelyn's xmas gift in a cardboard box, the mop and a Wal-Mart plastic bag holder and a few other small things. When I got that stuff out the only thing left was the surge protector. Flames were coming out it. I went running into the kitchen to fill a pan full of water, then thought, that is electrical can't put water on it. So I ran into the downstairs bathroom and turned all the electrical breakers off. I went back to the closet and the fire was out. I then unplugged the burned surge protector and threw it into the yard. Came back in and poured water down on the charred piece of carpet padding that the surge protector had been sitting on. Scared the crud out of me. Madelyn was also scared and crying, but at least she did I told her and went outside. Funny thing was even though there were flames, the cardboard box was just smoked as was a plastic bottle of fabric starch. So I got inside at just the right moment (gods timing) to avoid the entire house going up in flames. Enclosed are pictures of the surge protector's front and back side. The only thing plugged into it was the computer printer, that was not even turned on. It was not the plug area that goes in the wall it was the area opposite of where the printer was plugged into. The underside was melted. So I'm gathering it was the surge protector itself that caught fire and not because it was overloaded. So, in short hey these things cause fires.

case photos

IN SUMMARY!

The Phoenix Trabtech range features GDT and MOV components in its design not to cut costs but to save property and lives.

Cost cutting customers may want to take note of the new requirements of BS 62305 in its risk assessment!

The installer marketThe Domestic Installer Scheme is the NICEIC approval for contractors undertaking work within the scope of Part P of the Building Regulations.What is the Domestic Installer Scheme?NICEIC’s Domestic Installer Scheme is designed to enable registered contractors to comply with and work without hindrance under the Building Regulations Part P – Electrical Safety.On 1 January 2005, an amendment to the Building Regulations came into force in England and Wales which introduced Part P covering electrical which states that: “Fixed electrical installations in dwellings shall be suitably designed, installed, inspected and tested so as to provide reasonable protection against their being a source of a fire or a cause of injury to persons.”

Our offer

Always includes thermal disconnection!!

What could be the best surge solution for

the home/office/industry?

VAL-CP-MCB-1S (or 3S or 3C)-350/40/FM