Surge Protection

Topic

This article describes the surge protection available for certain Datto Managed Power units, and what to do if surge protection is depleted.

Environment

  • DMP-PDU-6R-515
  • DMP-PDU-14R-515
  • DMP-PDU-6R-C13
  • DMP-PDU-12R-C13
  • MP60

Description

A power surge is an intense, brief spike of high voltage energy within an electrical current. Power surges are caused by a variety of environmental or abnormal electric conditions, and can permanently damage electric devices. Select Managed Power units come equipped with surge protection, which guards against power surges by preventing large voltage spikes from entering devices.

Surge protection depletion

Under certain circumstances, the surge protection on the Managed Power unit will deplete. The following are common situations that would deplete surge protection:

  • Repeated small, noisy spikes above the clamping voltage. These are frequently caused by large appliances on the circuit which are transitioning from on to off, or off to on, affecting the rest of the circuit.

  • Environments with many large or old equipment motors that draw a lot of power on the same circuit, are more susceptible to surges.

  • Lightning strikes can generate an average of 1 billion to 10 billion Joules of energy. For example: if one strikes inbound power lines, the device will break all of its internal fuses and built-in protection in a failsafe manner to prevent equipment damage. Lightning strikes are not covered by warranty.