Eaton, a leader in providing reliable and energy efficent power management and power supply solutions, said it has achieved a major landmark in LED luminaire surge protection.

More than two million of its MTL LS range surge protection devices (SPD) are now installed worldwide, helping to ensure that critical LED lighting circuits continue to function uninterrupted by transient power fluctuations, said a statement from Eaton.

On the key milestone, Aneesh VN, Associate Product Line Manager - Surge, said: “Ensuring electrical safety in critical applications is a key motivator for Eaton.”

“The fact that millions of our MTL LS05K surge protection devices are now protecting LED lighting systems around the world is testament to the proven capabilities of these electrical safety devices to support OEM system and equipment designers and deliver genuine benefits for end users,” he stated.

With LED systems being commonly specified for applications ranging from street lights and traffic lights to safety signage and visual displays, it is important to ensure that they are sufficiently robust to withstand fluctuations in power supply.

Such failures may not only have serious safety implications depending on the application, but can also result in substantial downtime and maintenance costs while the point of failure is traced and repaired, said the top official.

The MTL LS05K range of surge protection devices from Eaton has been designed to prevent damage or failure of LED systems as a result of transient over voltages due to lightning strike or switching surges in diverse industrial and commercial applications.

According to Aneesh, MTL LS05K devices are equipped with internal overcurrent and thermal fuses and can endure large over-voltage swings that would damage most other SPDs.

They provide protection with a maximum surge rating of 10kA (8/20µs) between Line/Neutral, Line/Ground and Neutral/Ground modes and offer a high performance-to-size ratio for 120V-277V, 347V and 440-480V systems, he stated.

Fully automatic in operation, LS05K devices react immediately, clamping voltage surges without causing undue leakage losses under normal operation, said Aneesh.

These surge protection devices employ a unique “all mode” protection, which delivers a low limiting voltage and maximum continuous operating voltage. They will also withstand temporary over voltage (TOV) events, he added.