Description

SensorGuard™ by New Power Technologies detects imminent lightning events in the vicinity of your site and preemptively isolates your equipment from the AC supply, thus removing the possible surge path. It also detects when the AC supply voltage is damagingly high or low, and removes the grid connection until the supply voltage has stabilized.

SensorGuard delivers the level of protection that only preemptive isolation from the AC supply can provide. It complements existing Surge Protection Device (SPD) deployments. It is designed to trigger upon detection of Lightning activity only, and not to be triggered by normal electrically noisy environments, such as nearby wireless transmissions towers.

Features

• Continually monitors AC power for instability.
• Eliminates damage due to unstable power and peak load demand conditions.
• Monitors for threatening atmospheric conditions (Lightning Ground Strike activity).
• Eliminates fault current pathways through sensitive electronic circuits.
• Proactive “Isolation” approach complements all SPD technologies.
• Rugged design assures dependable protection in any environment.
• Comes in both “Plug-N-Play” and “Hard Wired” configurations.
• Low-maintenance modular design for “in field” service and upgrading.
• Ideally suited for cathodic protection rectifier applications.

How SensorGuard Works

A control board continuously monitors the quality of the power grid. As abnormal voltage conditions are detected, the board opens a power contactor, thereby removing power from the equipment. It then automatically closes the contactor and restores power after a user defined period if no additional electrical threats are detected.

To minimize the risk of lightning induced surge damage, SensorGuard employs an external lightning sensor. This sensor continuously monitors the earth surface for approaching lightning ground strikes and causes the equipment to be isolated from AC power when these strikes are within a present setting such as 6 miles (10 km) from the sensor’s location.

The detection distance can be adjusted by the user. For pipeline systems, the sensitivity is usually adjusted to detect storms up to 20 miles (30 km) away, thus assuring maximum protection. The sensor is also unique in its ability to sense the build-up to a near or actual lightning strike by recognizing the “stepped leader event,” enabling SensorGuard to isolate equipment from AC power in advance of an actual lightning event.

Impressed current rectifiers used with pipeline systems are at particular risk from lightning surge currents because they stand electrically between the AC service and the pipeline and anode ground bed. SensorGuard will provide a high level of protection by physically disconnecting the rectifiers from the AC line during potentially damaging electrical events. The compact SensorGuard main unit can often be co-located in the rectifier panel.