Testing and selecting surge suppressors for low-voltage AC circuits

A brief introduction of the characteristics of surge-protective devices utilized in the study of commercial low-voltage surge suppressors is presented. While doing a survey on more than ten surge suppressors from a number of manufacturers, a testing procedure was set up to evaluate the performance of these products. Since the configuration of surge suppressors may range from a single component to a very sophisticated circuit, a brief introduction of the basic surge-protective components and some possible configurations of the surge suppressors are presented to help interpret the testing results. Recommendations for selecting and connecting surge suppressors are also outlined