Sparks Electrical News January 2017

EARTHING, LIGHTNING AND SURGE PROTECTION

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PARTNERS HONOURED IN THIRD ANNUAL AWARDS CEREMONY

Kirk Risch - DEHN Africa; Seath Scowby – Universal Lightning Protection Services; Alex Frech – Industrial Control & Engineering Namibia; Bertie van Zyl – Advanced Lightning Protection; Sikhumbuzo Ngwenya – Surgetek; Premesh Narismulu – Surgetek; Alicia Nydoo – Surgetek; Paul van As – Surgetek; Oren Kruger – ARB; and Alexis Barwise – DEHN Africa.

Kirk Risch – DEHN Africa and Seath Scowby – Universal Lightning Protec- tion Services, winner of Best Performance Overall Award.

• Advanced Lightning Protection (ALP), Fastest Growing Partner; and • Universal Lightning Protection Services (ULPS), Best Performance Overall. Long standing DEHN partner, Surgetek received a special acknowl- edgement – a framed contract dated 1984, signed by the founder and former CEO of Surgetek, Hans Slagter, that recognises the 30-year partnership between the two companies and their lengthy commit- ment to the market.

DEHN Africa, a lightning and surge protection solutions provider, recently acknowledged its local distribution partners, hosting its third annual African partner awards ceremony in Johannesburg. The event started with a look into the company’s upward trajectory over the past few years, covered its current changes and also gave a glimpse of its future plans for the African market. These plans include the further development of its DEHNacademy seminars, training and workshops. DEHN Africa managing director, Alexis Barwise, highlighted the importance of a strong team and partners and talked about exciting international changes as DEHN evolves towards becoming a process-

orientated organisation that promotes growth and self-learning. “Another critical development is the ability to customise unique solutions in different geographical areas, meaning that the region specific needs of African clients can be catered for,” says Barwise. He outlined the the goal for 2020, which is to position DEHN as one of the top three lightning protection and energy quality solutions com- panies in the most important industrial and growth regions. Partners honoured at the event included: • ARB Electrical Wholesalers, Most Innovative Marketing; • ICE (Industrial Control & Engineering Namibia), Most Up and Coming Partner;

Enquiries: +27 11 704 1487

Keeping lifts going with elevated surge protection

Surge arresters reduce petroleum companies’ surge and lightning problems by 98%

SURGETEK’S Copa surge arrester marked the beginning of a new chapter in the company’s product offering to South Africa’s petrol stations and forecourt control. The Copa surge arrester drastically reduced petroleum companies’ down time resulting from power surges and lightning strikes by 98% says Paul van As, Surgetek Low Voltage divisional manager. “Surge protection must be installed in the petrol dispensers as well as the back office of a petrol station. It is absolutely essential that both power and data sources are protected,” says Van As. “Petrol station owners want to maximise their running hours and the correctly installed and maintained surge protec- tors reduces their downtime significantly. Power and data protection should be installed as close as possible to the forecourt controller,” he explains, adding that Surgetek also developed the HDO 280T – a compact protector for 220 V. “These units are fitted in most petrol dispenser throughout the country as they are supplied directly to dispenser manufacturers who install them in their pro- duction processes.” Plug-and-play Van As explains that the Copa Data Multi Wire has been designed for surge currents up to 10 kA. “Surgetek supplies surge protection products directly to petrol dispenser manufacturers and forecourt technology manufacturer UCS Technology Services. When UCS updated their forecourt control tech- nology last year it made sense to redesign and modify our surge protection products.” The Copa Data Multi Wire unit has three configurations; four-, eight- and 12-wire options and housed in a slimmer casing than its predecessor. Its dimensions of 22.5 mm wide and 92 mm high allow make it easy to install and to remove, when necessary. All inner components are locally manufactured and assembled. “The Copa Data Multi Wire is user-friendly and is a plug-and-play surge arrester and data transfer device that earths itself automatically to the DIN rail through an integrated earth clip,” he concludes.

TT TN-C and TN-S systems. The main ad- vantage of the TT earthing system is that it is clear of high and low frequency noises that come through the neutral wire from connected equipment. TT has always been preferable for special applications such as telecommunication sites that benefit from interference-free earthing. Also, TT does not have the risk of a broken neutral. DEHN’s BLITZDUCTOR XT family offers optimal protection of two or four signal wires and the cable shield (BSP and BXT). These space-saving combined lightning current and surge arrester modules offer the LifeCheck feature, which detects thermal or electrical overload, at which time the arrester has to be replaced. This status is indicated by the DEHNrecord reader. Available in either two or four pair for universal use with most types of data protocols, the BXT base offers offers no signal interruption when plugging in and removing the protection module. The BLITZDUCTOR XT is for use in the lightning protection zone concept at the boundaries from 0 A –2 and higher.

kinetic energy generated by goods transport to the ground floor and empty travels to the top floors is fed into the power supply system. These functions can only be fulfilled by means of highly sensitive electronic sys- tems. Although lift manufacturers take various measures to reduce bulk current injection into the lift cabling and technol- ogy to an acceptable level – be it with shielded metallic distribution boards or the type of cable routing or cables used – these measures cannot prevent conducted transients from damaging the lift. Given that the peripheral units of lifts, such as floor panels or floor displays, are connected to prewired plug-in connecting cables, surge protective devices are only required for the mains connection, the tel- ephone line and the fire alarm system. DEHNguard is a complete prewired unit that consists of a base part and plug-in protection modules. It has a high discharge capacity due to its heavy-duty zinc oxide varistors / spark gaps, and offers reassur- ing reliability due to its (thermo dynamic control) SPD monitoring device. This modular surge arrester is ideal for use in

LIFTS are used every day to transport people and goods in private and commercial buildings. Hydraulic lifts are frequently used for low lifting heights, whilst counterbalanced cable lifts are used for medium to high lifting heights. Passenger lifts have a speed of about one metre per second (m/s) and higher, in medium-sized buildings and multi- storey buildings this increases up to eight m/s, whilst in the next generation of multi-storey buildings speeds can go up to 17 m/s. Goods lifts usually have transportation capacities of in the region of five tonnes. Modern day lifts fulfil several sophisti- cated functions, such as: • Smooth starting and stopping con- trolled by a frequency converter; • Traffic optimisation measures, such as not stopping in the case of full load, pri- ority travel, and the behaviour of lifts in case of fire; • Energy saving functions in which cabin lighting and the ventilator are switched off in case of empty travels or when at a standstill; and • Power supply function in which the

Enquiries: +27 11 792 1303

The Copa Data Multi Wire unit has three configurations with a standard housing measuring 22.5 mm wide and 92 mm-high.

Paul van As, Surgetek Low Voltage divisional manager.

Enquiries: +27 11 704 1487

SPARKS ELECTRICAL NEWS

JANUARY 2017