No Disruptions
Protectors deliver the power to protect security systems
- By Michael Molinari
- Jul 01, 2017
Power surges and lightning
strikes can disrupt the operation
of security and surveillance
systems, or even worse,
destroy them completely. In
addition to leaving facilities unprotected,
the cost can be substantial; easily reaching
into the millions depending on the severity
of the disruption and the size of the systems
affected.
There are numerous causes of power
surges that can stem from both internal and
external sources. Internal surges can result
when a single piece of equipment with a
large power draw is turned on, and externally
via a disruption in service from the grid itself.
In either case, the timing of these disruptions
can come at any hour of the day with sources
unknown to security personnel. However,
the worst scenario is typically caused by a
lightning strike, which can have a widespread
effect as a split second large surge of electricity
finds its way through your infrastructure.
In any of these scenarios, there are costs
involved due to physical damage, loss of
business revenue due to lack of security and
surveillance (especially in applications like
gaming where security and surveillance is
mandated for operation), and in manpower
hours to remediate the situation and get systems
up and running again.
As simple as it sounds, surge protectors
can alleviate these vulnerabilities. They can
be easily and cost-effectively added to almost
any electronic system or wired network. But
it’s important to note that all surge protectors
are not created equally. Surge protectors
designed for professional applications can
absorb multiple hits and remain operational
and can alert personnel of a surge event so
they can be checked or replaced to maintain
protection.
It makes sense for security professionals
to investigate surge protection solutions to
protect the integrity and investment in security,
life safety/fire and surveillance systems.
All of these systems can be easily and costefficiently
protected.
How Surge
Protection Works
The concept of surge protection is simple—
when voltage increases beyond a device’s acceptable
operating range, the excess energy is
safely diverted to ground. This prevents the
surges from flowing through and damaging
the equipment while at the same time allowing
the normal voltage to continue along its
path so the equipment continues working
without interruption.
There are two types of voltage surges.
The first is a power spike where the electrical
voltage and/or current rises for a short period
of time, often less than a thousandth of
a second. Power strikes can contain very high
voltages and the most costly result of these
small surges is the wear and tear on electronics
and gradual degradation and eventual
failures over time, affecting productivity and
racking up expensive repair bills.
The second type is a power surge. A surge
is caused by a temporary increase in powerline
voltage, usually 10 to 35 percent above
normal and can last from 15 milliseconds
up to several minutes. The sudden jump in
electricity spreads instantaneously, briefly
exposing electrical devices to increased voltage.
Surges can occur due to faulty wiring,
lightning strikes or sudden changes in electrical
current such as devices being turned
on or off—and they can badly damage the
electrical system.
Simply having a surge protector however
doesn’t guarantee that your equipment is
safe. The surge protector needs to deliver the
right level of electrical absorption to handle
regular spikes and surges. Commercial use
surge protectors specify how much energy
the surge protector can absorb and a higher
number indicates greater protection. A listed
maximum surge current rating will also confirm
that the device is a surge protector and
not simply a power strip.
Surge protectors are usually divided between
power and data/telecom devices. Surge
protection for electrical power follows the
ANSI/IEEE C64.41.2-2002 industry standard,
which divides a building into three
categories—A, B and C. Category C is defined
as the service entrance or main disconnect.
Category B is at the distribution and
sub-panel environment and Category A is at
individual equipment or wall outlets. Maximum
protection requires a surge suppressor
at each one of these locations (A,B,C) and
minimum protection requires a surge suppressor
at two (B,C) of the locations that
feed the sensitive load.
Nothing can give a 100 percent guarantee
of protection when dealing with transient
surges. Lightning does not follow UL
approved waveforms, and when an open
neutral event occurs at your local utility,
line voltage can remain at more than twice
nominal for several minutes. Given a proper
installation (short, straight leads and a good
ground) one level of protection should stop
at least 90 percent of a major surge. The subpanel
protector will see only 10 percent of
the original surge. With a 90 percent dissipation,
there is now less than 1% of the surge
left. A third stage of protection will increase
the dissipation to 99.9 percent.
Spikes can easily enter data/telecom lines,
just as they can electric power lines, and
damage sensitive electronic equipment. In
these instances, it is necessary to know the
maximum continuous operating voltage and
the allowable resistance of the data lines; the
data line speed and the type of connection
before applying a suppression solution.
Adding
Surge protection can be added easily and
cost-effectively to almost any electronic system or wired network, stopping these power
surges from causing damage to important
security and operational systems.
At the lowest price points, surge protection
devices absorb the excess energy on the
line to save the protected systems. Higher
quality devices can absorb multiple hits
and remain operational. Some surge protection
devices have the capability to alert
operations staff that they have performed
their function and may need to be checked
or replaced to maintain protection. This is
the best approach, because staff may not be
aware of recent power surges and thus that
the protection may be compromised.
Surge protection devices have been successfully
deployed to protect physical security
systems with access control or video
surveillance systems, including a regional
airport in the southeastern United States.
To enhance facility security, airport management
installed a new access control system
with 144 access points to airport secured
areas. Shortly after installation, the airport
began experiencing access control panel and
card reader failures.
Lightning activity was not the main cause
of failures but rather static generated by dry
winter air was forcing controlled doors to
malfunction, causing damage to their internal
circuitry.
Eventually the access control system
suffered a major surge event, causing card
reader and mag lock failures. Door solenoids
failed, and the entry/egress doors in secured
areas would not open. Employees could not
enter or leave secured areas until the problem
was identified and the access control
system was manually overridden. Airport
management had to pull security personnel
from other areas of the airport to guard the
secured areas until the access control system
was repaired, reducing the overall physical
security of the airport.
The failures were a result of there being
no surge protection which was corrected
with the installation of surge protection devices
for each controlled door panel. Since
that installation was completed, there have
been no further reports of malfunction or
damage to the access control systems.
In video surveillance applications, surge
protection is vital because the video images
are an invaluable tool for exposing false injury
claims, theft and other accusations or incidents.
However, power outages, surges and
voltage transients on network data lines can
leave video surveillance systems inoperable
when they are needed most. It is recommended
that surge protection be installed at every
external camera, including outdoor PoE or
PoE+ IP cameras. This is recommended because
a surge can travel through the cabling
from a remote device, damage or destroy a
network switch, and possibly cause further
issues with other switch-connected devices
such as servers running VMS software.
Moreover, equipment and cabling are not
the only costs from power surge incidents.
From a business perspective, the potential
loss of data and downtime could be far costlier
than the cost of the damaged equipment.
Facilities must be evacuated when the fire
alarm systems stop functioning. When security
systems are out of service, parking lots,
doors, and secure areas need to be covered
by temporary guards at an additional cost.
There is also a loss of productivity if staff is
delayed by congestion and manual processes
at entrances, or if their work equipment and/
or work data is damaged or lost. Downtime
can also cause a potential loss of customer
confidence or business. If a customer uses social
media to complain about a website being
down for a few hours, the resulting negative
impact can be detrimental to a business for
an extended time.
If you are responsible for an important
electronic system, it makes sense to speak
with a surge protection expert who can review
your situation and make suitable recommendations.
There are many surge protector
models that are designed for specific
applications, from fire alarms to IP networks
to HVAC systems and more. Reputable companies
that specialize in surge protection
may also offer free site
surveys to help achieve
the most effective protection
solution.
This article originally appeared in the July 2017 issue of Security Today.