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 C136.2-2023 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:

To maintain the expected ROI, end users should select luminaires that are designed, and fully tested to comply with ANSI C136.2-2023.

LED Luminaire	LED Floodlights

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

Selecting the Appropriate SPD

Surge Protective Devices (SPDs) shall be UL 1449 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

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

Recommended Surge Protectors for 120/208 VAC Lighting Systems

Exposure Level	Equipment	System	Surge Protector Model#	Link
Extreme	Main Panel	120/208 V ac	MDS750E-120Y
Extreme	Lighting Control Panel	120 V ac Power Input	DS74US-120Y/G
	Power Supply	120 V ac Power Input	DS72US-120S/G
		24 V dc 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	120-208 V ac Power Input	${ITEM_LINK#2229418}<-No Item, #2229418 MLPXUVG-277S	${ITEM_LINK#2229418}<-No Item, #2229418
Extreme	Luminaire	120-277 V ac Power Input	${ITEM_LINK#2229418}<-No Item, #2229418 MLPXUVG-277S	${ITEM_LINK#2229418}<-No Item, #2229418

Recommended Surge Protectors for 120/240Vac Lighting Systems

Exposure Level	Equipment	System	Surge Protector Model#	Link
Extreme	Main Panel	120/240 V ac	MDS750E-120T
Extreme	Lighting Control Panel	120 V ac Power Input	DS73US-120T/G
	Power Supply	120 V ac Power Input	DS72US-120S/G
		24 V ac 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	120-240 V ac Power Input	${ITEM_LINK#2229418}<-No Item, #2229418 MLPXUVG-277S	${ITEM_LINK#2229418}<-No Item, #2229418
Extreme	Luminaire	120-277 V ac Power Input	${ITEM_LINK#2229418}<-No Item, #2229418 MLPXUVG-277S	${ITEM_LINK#2229418}<-No Item, #2229418

Recommended Surge Protectors for 277/480 V AC Lighting Systems

Exposure Level	Equipment	System	Surge Protector Model#	Link
Extreme	Main Panel	277/480 V ac	MDS750E-277Y
Extreme	Lighting Control Panel	277 V ac Power Input	DS74US-277Y/G
	Power Supply	120-240 V ac Power Input	DS72US-230S/G
		24 V dc 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	277 V ac Power Input	${ITEM_LINK#2229418}<-No Item, #2229418 MLPXUVG-277S	${ITEM_LINK#2229418}<-No Item, #2229418
Extreme	Luminaire	120-277 V ac Power Input	${ITEM_LINK#2229418}<-No Item, #2229418 MLPXUVG-277S	${ITEM_LINK#2229418}<-No Item, #2229418

Recommended Surge Protectors for 347/480 V AC Lighting Systems

Exposure Level	Equipment	System	Surge Protector Model#	Link
Extreme	Main Panel	347/600 V ac	MDS750E-347Y
Extreme	Lighting Control Panel	347 V ac Power Input	DS74US-347Y
	Power Supply	120-240 V ac Power Input	DS72US-230S/G
		24 V dc 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	347/480 V ac Power Input	MSB10-480
Extreme	Luminaire	347-480 V ac Power Input	MSB10-480

Recommended Surge Protectors for 480 V AC Lighting Systems

Exposure Level	Equipment	System	Surge Protector Model#	Link
Extreme	Main Panel	480 V ac	MDS750E-480D
Extreme	Lighting Control Panel	480 V ac Power Input	DS74US-480D
	Power Supply	120-240 V ac Power Input	DS72US-230S/G
		24 V dc 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	480 V ac Power Input	MSB10-480
Extreme	Luminaire	347-480 V ac Power Input	MSB10-480

References