• • • SURGE & CIRCUIT PROTECTION • • •
MITIGATING HIDDEN TRANSIENTS: NEXT GENERATION SURGE
PROTECTION IN INDUSTRIAL SYSTEMS BY MIKE TORBITT, MANAGING DIRECTOR, CRESSALL P
ower quality is often overlooked, yet modern industrial and commercial facilities are increasingly vulnerable to voltage disturbances that can damage sensitive equipment. While surge protection is often associated with lightning or obvious spikes, most harmful transients originate from internal sources such as switching events, harmonics and fast-rising voltage anomalies from power electronics. Mike Torbitt, explains how next-generation surge protection strategies can safeguard systems while improving reliability and reducing maintenance costs.
Understanding hidden
transients Voltage transients are rapid, short-duration deviations from the normal supply voltage and are among the most common power quality disturbances in modern electrical systems. Although external events such as lightning can cause high-energy surges, the majority of transient activity is generated internally. According to Eaton, a global power management company, “up to 80 per cent of power surges occur on the customer side of the electric metre, with high-powered electrical devices within a facility generating internal surges through switching and load cycling.”
Supporting this, a survey by the Electrical Safety
Foundation International (ESFI) found that nearly half of industrial and commercial facilities experienced surge-related interruptions in the past year, with many reporting measurable
32 ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING • APRIL 2026
improvements in uptime after installing surge protective devices. Switching operations involving motors, transformers and variable speed drives (VSDs) create frequent high-frequency spikes that stress insulation and sensitive components, often going undetected until damage occurs.
Next-generation
protection strategies Modern surge protection extends beyond conventional metal oxide varistors or simple suppression devices. Combining ultra-fast suppressors with multi-stage coordination allows protection to be tailored to different points in the electrical network. The first stage responds in nanoseconds to fast-rising spikes, while the secondary stages absorb remaining energy, preventing overvoltages from reaching the critical devices.
This also minimises the strain on the switchgear and electronics. However, the right engineering solutions take into consideration the voltage levels and the impedance that the system presents. The solutions also take into consideration the expected transient energy in order to provide the right protection that is reliable and repeatable. In many applications, high-power resistors support transient management by absorbing and dissipating excess energy, protecting surge protection devices from repeated stress. This control over the voltage improves overall system stability, particularly in high-energy environments where repeated transient events can degrade protection components over time.
A practical application for industrial systems
Surge protection is most effective when designed as part of an integrated electrical strategy. In motor control centres and VSD installations, coordinated protection helps maintain uptime by
isolating transients at the source while preventing nuisance trips downstream.
In sensitive electronics, such as control systems or data acquisition equipment, ultra-fast suppressors prevent microsecond-level voltage spikes from causing logic errors or hardware damage. Multi-stage solutions also reduce maintenance interventions and improve long-term reliability, allowing operators to plan maintenance rather than respond to unexpected failures. Selecting the appropriate surge protection requires careful assessment of the system and equipment. Factors such as transient amplitude, source impedance, expected frequency of events and environmental conditions influence component selection. Cressall designs tailored solutions that combine resistive and surge suppression technologies to match site-specific requirements. By prioritising high thermal performance, long operational life and ease of maintenance, these solutions ensure that critical equipment continues to operate reliably in the face of hidden transients.
Cressall has decades of experience in protecting industrial and commercial electrical systems. By combining resistive and surge suppression technologies, our solutions help operators maintain uptime, extend equipment life and reduce maintenance interventions. As electrical systems become more complex and power electronics more pervasive, understanding and mitigating hidden transients is essential for any facility that values uptime, equipment longevity and operational efficiency. Well-specified surge protection, engineered in collaboration with experienced manufacturers, helps industrial and commercial operators reduce risk, extend equipment life and maintain continuous service in an increasingly demanding electrical environment.
www.cressall.com
electricalengineeringmagazine.co.uk
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