What does the surge current mean in the case of extension leads with overvoltage protection?
Power strips with surge protection can reduce surges so that connected devices are not damaged. The maximum surge current for extension leads with surge protection indicates how much current can be discharged without destroying the protective device itself.
The higher the value, the greater an overvoltage in the power supply system may be without destroying the protective devices, or the higher the surge current, the more smaller overvoltage peaks the extension leads with surge protection can absorb without sustaining damage.
How high must the surge protection be?
How high the number of maximum surge currents should be depends on what kind of devices are to be protected.
If it concerns devices that were particularly expensive to purchase and whose destruction would cause damage, it is worthwhile to resort to a surge protection product with a high number of total leakage currents or a high maximum sum of surge currents.
How much surge protection is needed for different electrical devices?
- High-end devices are particularly expensive and increasingly powerful, but they also react more sensitively to surges. We recommend surge protection socket strips with a max. leakage current of up to 120,000 A for high-end or for products that represent a high monetary or non-material value.
- For sophisticated electrical appliances such as game consoles or charging stations, we recommend surge protection socket strips with a max. leakage current of 19,500 A.
- For standard electrical appliances such as coffee makers, kettles or blenders, we recommend surge protection socket strips with a maximum leakage current of 13,500 A.
