Surge Protection for HVAC - Short #285 · HVAC School - For Techs, By Techs summary

Key takeaways

HVAC systems are vulnerable to power surges caused by lightning, utility issues, and internal house activities, leading to equipment degradation and failure.
Surge protection, especially using TPMOVs, is essential to protect equipment from high-voltage spikes by redirecting surges to ground.
Proper installation practices—short wiring leads, correct grounding, and separate conduit routing—are crucial to maximize surge protector effectiveness.
NEC 2020 mandates surge protection on all dwellings; layering surge protectors enhances system safety.
Regular maintenance and visual checks, like LED indicators, help ensure surge protection devices are functional.
Educational resources and proper product understanding are vital for effective surge protection implementation.

Summary

Introduction and Context of the Podcast Episode

This episode is from the HVAC School podcast, featuring Cheryl Klein from DITEK, discussing surge protection for HVAC systems. The episode is titled 'Surge Protection for HVAC - Short #285' and is part of the 7th Annual HVACR Training Symposium. Sponsorships mentioned include Refrigeration Technologies, Carrier, and Santa Fe Dehumidifiers, with specific product mentions and links provided.

Importance and Function of Surge Protection in HVAC

Cheryl Klein emphasizes the critical role of surge protection in safeguarding HVAC systems from damaging power surges, which are sudden, high-voltage spikes often caused by lightning, inductive loads, utility grid switching, and internal house activities. She explains how surges can cause both invisible degradation over time and catastrophic damage, leading to reduced equipment lifespan, sudden failures, and downtime. Proper surge protection directs harmful surges to ground, preventing damage.

Technical Aspects of Surge Protection and Installation Best Practices

The discussion covers how surge protectors work, focusing on thermally protected MOVs (TPMOVs) that react to voltage spikes and redirect surge energy to ground. Cheryl underscores the importance of short wiring leads, correct grounding, and separate conduit routing to maximize protection efficiency. She highlights standards like NEC 2020 that mandate surge protection in dwellings and recommends layering surge protection for optimal system safety. Proper installation, maintenance, and regular checks of surge protector health are stressed.

DITEK's Product Offerings and Educational Resources

Cheryl introduces DITEK's range of surge protection products, such as the KG2 phase monitor with integrated surge protection for single-phase systems, capable of detecting undervoltage and overvoltage conditions and automatically resetting. DITEK also offers commercial solutions for three-phase systems and low-voltage automation. The company's commitment to education is evident through DITEK University and technical support, encouraging proper installation and grounding practices.

Conclusion and Call to Action

The episode concludes with a reminder about the upcoming HVACR Training Symposium in Orlando on January 13-14, 2027, and encourages listeners to visit the website for tickets. The podcast also promotes subscribing on various platforms and provides additional resources like calculators and the HVAC School mobile app.

Show notes

This short podcast is from the Bry-X stage of the 7th Annual HVACR Training Symposium: Cheryl Klein's "Surge Protection for HVAC." Cheryl is with DITEK, a veteran-owned company based in Florida, and has extensive knowledge of whole-home surge protection and HVAC-specific surge protectors.

HVAC systems may have their lifespans reduced by power surges (tens of thousands of volts within microseconds) or sustained overvoltage. Surge protectors specifically protect the equipment from power surges, though DITEK manufactures products that help manage sustained overvoltage (and undervoltage, which surge protectors CANNOT protect against). Nearby lightning strikes and high voltage from the utility company (especially after undervoltage) are common causes of surges. Everyone in the country has risks of power surges, but some areas are exceptionally high-risk, whether due to utility causes or climate (lightning storms).

Degradation is the invisible damage that occurs over time with repeated surges. Destruction can be associated with a specific event, like a direct lightning strike or a blown transformer. Surge protection helps with both; when a surge comes through, the surge protector directs the surge to ground instead of your HVAC equipment. DITEK uses thermally protected MOVs (TPMOVs) to redirect the surge; TPMOVs react to surges and change from a low-impedance state to a high-impedance state, effectively pointing the surges to ground, and only a clamped voltage makes it to the HVAC equipment. However, surge protectors will degrade with each event; DITEK's surge protectors have LEDs indicating their health.

NEC 2020 requires surge protection on all dwellings, so many homeowners have whole-home surge protection already installed. Surge protection on the HVAC unit can still be added as an extra layer, which provides better protection for the HVAC system specifically. HVAC surge protection works at the condenser.

DITEK's KoolGuard2 (KG2) is a voltage monitor that works on single-phase equipment under 40 continuous amps. It cuts power if the power exceeds or dips too far below the typical voltage, and then it restores power after three minutes. It also does not require programming, but it has a few best practices, such as reducing lead length to improve the clamping voltage and keeping protected and unprotected wires in separate conduits. Ground must also be within code have low enough impedance to redirect the surges effectively; the resistance can only be measured properly with a megohmmeter or clamp meter. DITEK also has three-phase surge protection for commercial equipment and has options for BAS systems.

Learn more about DITEK's products and DITEK University at https://www.diteksurgeprotection.com/.

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