• Journal of the Korean Institute of Illuminating and Electrical Installation Engineers
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.95-103
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• 2013

Protection of the electrical and electronic equipment against surges in low voltage AC power distribution systems is based on wide applications of surge protective devices(SPDs). Cascade application of SPDs located at the service entrance of a building and near sensitive equipment is intended to ensure the optimal voltage protection level and energy sharing among cascade SPDs. In this paper, when surges impinge at the service entrance of the building of interest, the protection characteristics of two-stage cascade SPD systems were investigated. The influence of the distance between the upstream and downstream SPDs on the voltage protection level and energy sharing of the two-stage cascade SPD systems were analyzed experimentally. It was found that the energy sharing of two-stage cascade SPD systems strongly depends on the distance between the two SPDs and the component of SPD. As the distance between the two SPDs increases, the energy absorbed by the upstream SPD increases while the energy absorbed by the downstream SPD decreases. Consequently, it is desirable to select the upstream and downstream SPDs having the proper energy capability with due consideration of the distance between the two SPDs.