India customer visits LSP for surge protection in power protection products, telecom & transmission towers & railways

LSP is glad to meeting two guests from India on Nov 6th, 2019, their company manufactures and supplies power conditioning instruments, automation, and energy management products. It also holds expertise in the manufacturing of power protection products, telecom & transmission towers & railways.

SURGE PROTECTION DEVICES
Transient Surges are caused mainly by lightning & switching actions. The secondary effect of lightning causes transient overvoltages which damages sensitive electrical and electronic equipment installed Indoor/ Outdoor. Commonly used protective devices like HRC Fuses, MCBs, ELCBs, etc. are current sensing devices and the sense /operate in a few milliseconds. Since the surge is a Transient overvoltage that occurs for a few microseconds, these devices cannot sense them.

Hence, Indian and International Standards recommend the installation of Surge Protection Devices. SPDs are to be installed in addition to the UPS to protect sensitive electrical and electronic equipment. SPD is required even to protect UPS. In fact, the new IS/IEC-62305 series and NBC- 2016 standards have made it mandatory that, wherever external lightning protection is provided, it is necessary to install Surge Protection Devices.

The function of a surge protection device is to sense and limit the transient overvoltages to levels in which the connected equipment can withstand safely.

SPDs need to be provided for POWER, SIGNAL, INSTRUMENTATION, ETHERNET, and TELECOM lines.

The selection & installation of SPD is a Specialist job as the installer shall have a thorough knowledge of the current Indian & international standards along with hands-on experience because there are challenges related to each site. Again it is specialized because, most of the panel builders & technicians who install SPDs are conversant with MCB installations & follow the same practice, without reading the “installation manual” of the SPD manufacturer. If the above practices are followed, customers will have years of trouble-free operation of their equipment & SPDs.

The surge protection devices market is expected to grow from an estimated USD 2.1 billion in 2017 to USD 2.7 billion by 2022, registering a CAGR of 5.5%, from 2017 to 2022. The global market is set to witness significant growth due to the growing demand for protection systems for electronic devices, power quality issues, a rise in alternative energy programs, and cost escalation due to frequent equipment failures. Although some cost bearing constraints in the installation of surge protection devices are being observed, emerging economies are expected to create better opportunities for the surge protection devices market. Poor design parameters and misleading assumptions, inappropriate testing, and safety issues are expected to be major challenges for growth in the surge protection devices market.

The plug-in segment is expected to have the largest market share by 2022
With regard to the type segment, the plug-in SPD segment is expected to constitute the largest market by 2022. Plug-in surge protection devices primarily consist of DIN rail type mounting as well as other form factors SPDs without extension cords. These surge protection devices are designed to be installed at the service entrances of facilities, typically on the main switchboards, or close to sensitive equipment in facilities without lightning protection systems. Plug-in SPDs are suitable for installation at the origin of the network, in intermediate panels, and by the terminal equipment, protecting from indirect lightning strikes. They may require external overcurrent protection or the same may be included within the SPD. Due to its application at various end-user points, demand for plug-in SPDs is the highest among all types of SPDs, and the segment is expected to dominate the market by 2022.

By end-user, the industrial segment to hold the largest share of the surge protection market during the forecast period
The industrial segment is expected to grow at the fastest rate during the forecast period. The Industry 4.0 initiative is being applied to vehicles and electrical machinery in order to facilitate remote diagnostics, remote maintenance, and remote data capture. Such initiatives have increased the need for data centers, servers, and communication systems. With the increasing use of electronic equipment, the need for protection systems for such critical equipment has been increasing. This is driving the market for surge protection devices in the industrial segment, which is expected to create new revenue pockets for the surge protection devices market during the forecast period.

Asia-Pacific: The fastest-growing market for surge protection devices
The surge protection devices market is projected to grow faster in the Asia-Pacific region, especially in China and Japan. The Asia-Pacific region is moving towards clean energy on a large scale in order to meet its growing energy needs in an efficient way. India, China, and Singapore are some of the potential growing markets in the power and utility sector. Also, Asia-Pacific offered the biggest potential gains for foreign direct investment, and attracted 45% of all capital investment, globally, in 2015. Increased investments in modernizing infrastructure and urbanizing populations, especially in developing economies such as China and India, are expected to drive the Asia-Pacific surge protection device market. The Chinese market was, by far, the largest in the world in terms of infrastructure development in 2015. A rise in investments in smart grid technologies and smart cities that include distribution grid automation, smart meters, and demand response systems in countries such as Japan, South Korea, and Australia would create opportunities for the surge protection devices market.

Market Dynamics
Driver: Growing demand for protection systems for electronic devices
The growing usage of electrical equipment and increasing demand for utility customers for the stability of the power supply have stressed the importance of improving the reliability and power quality levels of electric systems. Surge protection can save expensive electronic items and equipment from being damaged. This will amplify the demand for surge protection devices globally. An increase in the demand for high technological electrical equipment, with a rise in disposable incomes, is the prime factor driving the surge protection devices market. As the use of electronic equipment is increasing in manufacturing facilities, corporations, and the residential sector, the need for power-quality protection equipment is becoming essential. Surge protection for both the entire facility and individual equipment is gaining significance as transient voltages and surges can impact productivity and profitability. The demand for highly technological and sophisticated appliances such as LED televisions, personal computers, printers, and industrial control equipment such as PLCs, microwaves, washing machines, and alarms, is rising rapidly. In July 2014, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) predicted that total industry revenues would grow 2% to $211.3 billion in 2014 and another 1.2% in 2015. The U.S. is the second-largest worldwide exporter of these products with an 8% share of total exports. These devices are very sensitive and could be easily damaged by small fluctuations in the voltage. This awareness is driving the demand for surge protection. Subsequently, the market for SPDs grows.

Restraint: Surge protection devices only provide protection from voltage spikes and surges
Surges are a natural result of any electrical activity. The sensitive electronic items have increased the need to control the damaging effects of surges on electrical systems. Since it is impossible to prevent voltage surges from either entering a building or from occurring inside a building, SPDs must divert the effects of these voltage surges or spikes. SPDs remove electrical surges or impulses by acting as a low impedance path that turns the transient voltage into a current and shunts along the return path. Its main purpose is to remove harmful voltage spikes from the electrical system. A common surge protector will stop voltage spikes and surges, but not the violent, catastrophic burst of current from a close lightning strike. Direct lightning current is simply too big to shield with a little electronic device inside a power strip. If the surge protectors are in the way of the lightning path, all lightning will just flash over the device, regardless of the number of capacitors and battery banks involved. Most of the SPDs provide a good degree of defense against a direct voltage strike or surge. They cannot absolutely guarantee against damage to any electronic equipment, and hence, it is a serious restraint for surge protection device deployment.

Opportunity: Protection for high technological equipment adopted in emerging economies
With the rise in population and increasing economic developments in the developing nations, the demand for electronic items is on the rise. With growing industrialization and increase in disposable income, the standard of living has improved. Hence, the consumption and spending on electronic items have exponentially improved in the past few years. The increase in damage to such equipment is due to, both the increased usage of microprocessors in a greater range of products and the continuing miniaturization of microelectronic components. Adoption of high technology equipment such as LCD, LED, laptops, washing machines, and televisions in the emerging countries are the major factors behind the growth of surge protection devices market globally. Political conditions, economic considerations, and technical requirements provide inclination towards further advances in the surge protection device market.

Challenge: Poor design parameters and misleading assumptions
There is a need to place multiple components in parallel arrays in the circuit to enable SPDs to handle higher voltage surges. It is a common practice for SPD manufacturers to multiply the surge current capacity of each suppression component by the number of parallel components to finished product’s total surge current capacity. This calculation may sound reasonable, but it is simply not accurate by any engineering principle. Poor mechanical design can lead to one individual suppression component, always having to withstand more energy than its neighbors during a surge event. The net result is that for large transient currents, such as by lightning, surge protection devices can fail violently or even explode as these forces and energies dissipate through one component rather than being equally shared by all of the parallel components. Thus, it is important to design the structural frameworks of surge protection devices precisely and accurately.

Scope of the Report

The research report categorizes the offshore support vessel to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following sub-segments:
Surge Protection Devices Market By Type

• Hard-Wired
• Plug-In
• Line Cord

Surge Protection Devices Market By End User

• Industrial
• Commercial
• Residential

Surge Protection Devices Market By Discharge Current

• Below 10 kA
• 10 kA–25 kA
• Above 25 kA

Surge Protection Devices Market By Region

• Europe
• North America
• Asia-Pacific
• Middle East & Africa
• South America