The True Cost of Surge Protection

By Anthony Knighton
Field Sales Engineer, DITEK

Trends, Topics and Technologies

The phrase “penny wise, and pound foolish” doesn’t apply to every situation, but it is certainly a perfect fit when it comes to failing to implement surge protection for critical electronic systems. Most security and safety-oriented systems are in this category, including fire alarms, video surveillance and access control to name a few. Moreover, because these systems are increasingly integrated with HR and other business data networks, electrical surge events can cause much more damage across organizational operations than ever before.

If you are a systems integrator, do you recommend surge protection for every job? If you are in security, facility or executive management, do you insist that your critical systems are protected?

The first step is to realize that every electronic system is at risk of damage from electrical surges and spikes. Contrary to common perceptions, lightning is not the only cause – smaller, every day external power disruptions, such as those caused by power grid switching, or nearby welding or equipment use, mostly go undetected. Damaging power surges can even be created inside your facility by inductive load switching in your HVAC system, for example. Without adequate protection, these unnoticed surges invisibly shorten the life of sensitive electronic systems and decrease their reliability.

If adding surge protection would protect critical electronic systems from this damage, why don’t customers demand surge protection on every system? A big part of the answer is that many customers just aren’t aware of how common power surges are or the damage they can cause, or that surge protection can be easily added to existing systems.

But another part is that customers may believe that any damage that does occur would be covered by insurance. Depending on the specifics of the insurance policy, replacement equipment may be covered – but there are other costs that are generally not covered, including the business impacts of downtime, loss of customer confidence, lost business, and more. In one case, a Florida resort had to pay more than $300k to maintain a fire watch until alarm system repairs could be completed – a far greater sum than all the equipment replacement costs. There are even possible liability risks if someone is hurt during a security system outage. In terms of total costs and impacts, counting on insurance coverage is a risky approach.

System designers, specifiers and integrators are in a strong position to recommend surge protection, and customers depend on them to do the job the way it should be done. Why don’t they always include surge protection in every proposal? While some professionals do, many others avoid adding anything not already in the bill of materials because they believe they will lose the bid, or that the customer won’t want the extra cost. Leaving off surge protection, when professionals know of the benefit, seems to be a missed opportunity. Adding surge protection as an option can solve this issue, while providing a chance to explain the need and deliver additional professional value. When customers learn that the cost of this important protection usually costs less than the sales tax on their system, the integrator becomes a valued partner, worthy of loyalty and future business.

Damaging electrical surges are a part of daily life, whether we notice them or not. Every facility can implement simple, cost-effective surge protection to help ensure that its access control systems will be functioning when needed most. Don’t be “pound foolish” and ignore this silent business threat; make sure you install electrical surge protection.