Surge Protection for Architectural
LED Lighting Systems (ANSI C136.2)


Architectural LED Lighting

Today's increased reliance on very sensitive electronics makes surge protection an important topic for LED Lighting. The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety study found that $26 billion dollars was lost due to non-lightning power surges. In addition, there are about 25 million lightning strikes in the US each year that cause between $650M to $1B in losses according to the Insurance Information Institute, State Farm©.

This page discusses how to best protect your LED Luminaire used in Architectural LED Lighting.

The latest release of ANSI C136.2-2018 provides surge protection requirements for luminaires and control devices. Based on performance requirements and transient immunity testing, these devices can be classified into three categories:

Exposure Level	Surge Rating
Typical	6kV/3kA
Enhanced	10kV/5kA
Extreme	20kV/10kA

To maintain the expected ROI, end users should select luminaires that are designed, and fully tested to comply with ANSI C136.2-2018.


LED Luminaire


LED Floodlights

This table shows the recommended C136.2-2018 transient immunity levels for common outdoor lighting applications:

Lighting Application		Electrical Transient Immunity
	6kV/3kA	10kV/5kA	20kV/10kA
Building entrance, building exterior	X
Parking garage, parking lot, tunnel		X
Street roadway, stadium, airport			X

Selecting the appropriate SPD

Surge Protective Devices (SPDs) shall be UL1449 Type 4CA or better including Type 1, Type 2, Type 1CA and Type 2CA. Per ANSI C136.2-2018, it should be tested to the appropriate exposure level based on the application or installed location.

The UL1449 Type 4CA Surge Protective Devices (SPD) have undergone more stringent safety testing than UL1449 Type 5 Components including the critical abnormal overvoltage - limited current testing.

The LED luminaire is tested to ANSI C136.2-2018 with the SPD installed. The coordination of the SPD is key in making sure that the luminaire and control devices pass testing and not only the SPD passes by itself. CITEL can provide manufacturers with full C136.2 surge testing for all exposure levels in our surge laboratory in Miramar, FL.

Recommended Surge Protectors for
LED Lighting Systems

120/208Vac | 120/240Vac | 277/480Vac | 347/600Vac | 480Vac |

Recommended Surge Protectors for 120/208Vac Lighting Systems

Exposure Level	Equipment	System	Surge Protector Model#
Extreme	Main Panel	120/208Vac	MDS750E-120Y
Extreme	Lighting Control Panel	120Vac Power Input	DS74US-120Y/G
	Power Supply	120Vac Power Input	DS72US-120S/G
		24Vdc Power Output	DS220S-24DC
	Controller	Ethernet Cat 6A	MJ8-C6A
		POE Camera	MJ8-POE-A
		4-20mA	DLA-24D3
		Wireless	P8AX09-6G-N/FF
Extreme	Light Pole Hand Hole	120-208Vac Power Input	MLPXUVG-277S
Extreme	Luminaire	120-277Vac Power Input	MLPXUVG-277S

Recommended Surge Protectors for 120/240Vac Lighting Systems

Exposure Level	Equipment	System	Surge Protector Model#
Extreme	Main Panel	120/240Vac	MDS750E-120T
Extreme	Lighting Control Panel	120Vac Power Input	DS73US-120T/G
	Power Supply	120Vac Power Input	DS72US-120S/G
		24Vdc Power Output	DS220S-24DC
	Controller	Ethernet Cat 6A	MJ8-C6A
		POE Camera	MJ8-POE-A
		4-20Ma	DLA-24D3
		Wireless	P8AX09-6G-N/FF
Extreme	Light Pole Hand Hole	120-240Vac Power Input	MLPXUVG-277S
Extreme	Luminaire	120-277Vac Power Input	MLPXUVG-277S

Recommended Surge Protectors for 277/480Vac Lighting Systems

Exposure Level	Equipment	System	Surge Protector Model#
Extreme	Main Panel	277/480Vac	MDS750E-277Y
Extreme	Lighting Control Panel	277Vac Power Input	DS74US-277Y/G
	Power Supply	120-240Vac Power Input	DS72US-230S/G
		24Vdc Power Output	DS220S-24DC
	Controller	Ethernet Cat 6A	MJ8-C6A
		POE Camera	MJ8-POE-A
		4-20Ma	DLA-24D3
		Wireless	P8AX09-6G-N/FF
Extreme	Light Pole Hand Hole	277Vac Power Input	MLPXUVG-277S
Extreme	Luminaire	120-277Vac Power Input	MLPXUVG-277S

Recommended Surge Protectors for 347/480Vac Lighting Systems

Exposure Level	Equipment	System	Surge Protector Model#
Extreme	Main Panel	347/600Vac	MDS750E-347Y
Extreme	Lighting Control Panel	347Vac Power Input	DS74US-347Y
	Power Supply	120-240Vac Power Input	DS72US-230S/G
		24Vdc Power Output	DS220S-24DC
	Controller	Ethernet Cat 6A	MJ8-C6A
		POE Camera	MJ8-POE-A
		4-20Ma	DLA-24D3
		Wireless	P8AX09-6G-N/FF
Extreme	Light Pole Hand Hole	347/480Vac Power Input	MSB10-480
Extreme	Luminaire	347-480Vac Power Input	MSB10-480

Recommended Surge Protectors for 480Vac Lighting Systems

Exposure Level	Equipment	System	Surge Protector Model#
Extreme	Main Panel	480Vac	MDS750E-480D
Extreme	Lighting Control Panel	480Vac Power Input	DS74US-480D
	Power Supply	120-240Vac Power Input	DS72US-230S/G
		24Vdc Power Output	DS220S-24DC
	Controller	Ethernet Cat 6A	MJ8-C6A
		POE Camera	MJ8-POE-A
		4-20Ma	DLA-24D3
		Wireless	P8AX09-6G-N/FF
Extreme	Light Pole Hand Hole	480Vac Power Input	MSB10-480
Extreme	Luminaire	347-480Vac Power Input	MSB10-480

References

#	Title
1	NFPA 70 edition 2020, Article 670 Industrial Machinery, 670.6 Surge Protection
2	NFPA 70 edition 2014, “Data Assessment for Electrical Surge Protective Devices”
3	NFPA 79 edition 2018
4	NFPA 79 edition 2018, Annex C, Examples of Industrial Machines Covered by NFPA 79
5	ANSI C62.41, Low-Voltage AC Power Circuits
6	ANSI C136.2, Roadway and Area Lighting Equipment - Dielectric Withstand and Electrical Transient
7	UL8801, Outline of Investigation for Photovoltaic (PV) Luminaire Systems
8	UL1598, Luminaires
9	UL924, Emergency Lighting and Power Equipment
10	UL1449 5th Edition, Surge Protective Devices
11	UL497B, Surge Protectors for Data Lines and Fire-Alarm Circuits
12	UL497E, Antenna Lead-in Conductors
13	UL508, Industrial Control Equipment
14	IEC 61643-11, Low-Voltage Surge Protective Devices - Part 11: Surge Protective Devices Connected To Low-Voltage Power Systems - Requirements And Test Methods
15	IEC 61643-21, Low Voltage Surge Protective Devices - Part 21: Surge Protective Devices Connected To Telecommunications And Signalling Networks - Performance Requirements And Testing Methods
16	IEC 61000-45, Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) - Part 4-5: Testing And Measurement Techniques - Surge Immunity Test
17	CSA 107.1, General Use Power Supplies
18	CSA 141, Emergency Lighting Equipment
19	CSA 250, Luminaires
20	NOM-001-SCFI, Standard for Electronic Equipment
21	NOM-003-SCFI, Electrical Products - Safety Requirements

Surge Protection for Architectural LED Lighting Systems (ANSI C136.2)