Surge Protection for Irrigation Systems

Center Pivot System

OVERVIEW

Today's increased reliance on very sensitive electronics makes surge protection an important topic for Agricultural Irrigation applications like Irrigation Systems utilizing Center Pivot Systems. 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 Irrigation System and all associated components like Main Service Panel, Power Cabinet, Controller Cabinet, Tower Box, and Sensors.

Selecting SPD for Irrigation Systems

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.

Recommended SPD for Main Service Panel

Location	Equipment	System	Surge Protector Model#	Link
	Main Panelboard	480Vac	MDS750E-480D

Recommended SPD for Power Cabinet

Location	Equipment	System	Surge Protector Model#	Link
	Power Circuit	480Vac Power Input	DS74US-480D

Recommended SPD for Controller Cabinet

Location	Equipment	System	Surge Protector Model#	Link
	Power Circuit	480Vac Power Input	DS74US-480D
		120-240Vac Power Input	DS72US-240T/NN
		12-24Vdc Power Output	DS220S-24DC
		4-20mA	DLA-24D3

Recommended SPD for Tower Box

Location	Equipment	System	Surge Protector Model#	Link
	Power Circuit	120Vac Power Input	MLPXUVG-277S

Recommended SPD for Field Sensors

Location	Equipment	System	Surge Protector Model#	Link
	Transducer	4-20mA	DLA-24D3
	Field Sensor	4-20mA	TSP15M-P-24D3