Surge Protection for Industrial Control Panels (UL508A)

UL508A Main
UL508A Industrial Control Panel

OVERVIEW

Today's increased reliance on very sensitive electronics makes surge protection an important topic for Industrial Control Panels listed to UL508A. 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©.

Selecting SPD for UL508A Industrial Control Panels

NEC/NFPA 70 require that Surge Protective Devices (SPDs) shall be UL1449 Listed. This means selecting a surge protector is easier than it has ever been. There are only a few choices available for SPDs that are UL Listed for any of the most commonly used surge standards including UL1449 5th Edition, UL497B, and UL497E.

Main Service Panel | PLC Cabinet | Motor Control Cabinet | Motor

Recommended SPD for Main Service Panel

LocationEquipmentSystemSurge Protector Model#Link
Main-Panel Main Panelboard480Vac MDS750E-480D MDS750E-480D

Recommended SPD for PLC Cabinet

LocationEquipmentSystemSurge Protector Model#Link
MCC Allen Bradley PLC Cabinet120-240Vac
Power Input
DS72US-240T/NN DS72US-240TNN

P/S24Vdc
Power Output
DS220S-24DC

Analog
Sensors
4-20mA DLAS-24D3 DLAS1-24D3

Discrete I/ORS-485 DLAS-12D3 DLAS1-24D3

Network
Switch
Ethernet
Cat 6A
MJ8-C6A MJ8-C6A

Radio
Transmitter
SCADA
Wireless
P8AX09-6G-N/FF P8AX09-6G-N-FF

Recommended SPD for Motor Control Center (MCC)

LocationEquipmentSystemSurge Protector Model#Link
MCC Motor Control
Center
480Vac
Power Input
DS74US-480D DS74US-480D

Power Supply120-240Vac
Power Input
DS72US-240T/NN DS72US-240TNN

P/S24Vdc
Power Output
DS220S-24DC DS220S-24DC

Analog
Sensors
4-20mA DLAS-24D3 DLAS1-24D3

Discrete I/ORS-485 DLAS-12D3 DLAS1-24D3

Network
Switch
Ethernet
Cat 6A
MJ8-C6A MJ8-C6A

Recommended SPD for Motors

LocationEquipmentSystemSurge Protector Model#Link
Motor 200hp Motor480Vac
Power Input
M50-480D-A M50-A


0-240Vac
Relay Input
DS71US-275 DS71US-275

Determining the acceptability of an SPD
for UL 508A Industrial Control Panels and All Other UL Listed Equipment

The UL inspector will first consider the SPD type when determining it’s acceptability for a given application or piece of equipment. This will include UL 508A as well as all other UL Listed equipment. The first level compliance is based on the UL Approval (LISTED or RECOGNIZED) of the SPD or UL SPD Type and it’s Suitable Ratings. This means that it has to meet all safety, performance, environmental and electrical system ratings of the application. If any of these criteria are not fully met, it will require a Procedure Description, a File Update and/or Additional Testing. These actions will require additional costs that may be substantial. For this reason, it is in the interest of the specifier to use UL LISTED SPD’s to eliminate any uncertainty or to make sure the UL RECOGNIZED SPD is selected at the time of UL submittal of the equipment.

Approval Considerations Table based on UL SPD Type

UL
Mark
UL1449
SPD Type
Suitable
Ratings
Procedure
Described
File
Update or
Additional
Testing
Notes
1

2
YesNoNoThe only requirement is that the SPD must match electrical and environmental ratings of the UL 508A Control Panel.

A UL field inspection of the control panel with the SPD installed is required as a part of a standard follow-up service visit.
1CA

2CA

4CA

5
YesYesYesYes – All UL recognized SPD’s require a UL engineering evaluation of the SPD’s existing UL1449 E–file.

This will result, at a minimum, in a cost to update the UL file and may also require testing that would result in additional costs.

Contact us to develop a surge mitigation solution for your application

Where to purchase Citel SPD's