1/4 Wave Arrestor

All appliances and electrical devices have a fixed voltage range. This is a band of operating voltages that indicates the range at which a particular device is designed to safely operate within. If the voltage received by a device is higher than its recommended voltage range, the device may malfunction, its internal components damaged, and even blow up in a worst-case scenario.

So, why would there be a high voltage transmission in the first place? It’s important to note that voltage fluctuations happen all the time. These can be attributed to a variety of reasons like a corroded, loose connection in your house or building, wiring issues, poor power supply quality, interference, etcetera. Most of the time, these fluctuations do not exceed usual voltage ranges and are thus not a cause of worry. However, there might be instances wherein the voltage fluctuations can experience extreme dips and spikes brought about by lightning storms and switching overvoltages.

Surge arresters limit these overvoltages caused by lightning or switching surges (i.e. surges that occur when operating conditions in an electrical system are suddenly changed). They are not designed to protect against a direct lightning strike if ever one should occur.

But rather, they offer some degree of protection against electrical transients caused by lightning strikes when they occur within the general vicinity of the conductor. In this regard, surge arresters can also divert transients similar to those that come from lightning like those that come from a high voltage system’s faulty switching.

Whatever it is that the overvoltage is coming from, a surge arrester works the same way. It either clamps the surge to minimize the voltage that passes through its power system, or it redirects it to the ground. Some surge arresters on the market today come equipped with a “surge counter” component, which is a module that allows the device to capture the occurrence of a discharge.