Are surge-protective devices now code?

[h2ofun]

Do these need to be installed now with lets say our battery and or solar installs? How does this install in a panel? Which panel?

https://s3.amazonaws.com/dcc-data-e...020-04-14/Specification Sheet/SIE_SS_QSPD.pdf

National Electric Code (NEC) The 2020 NEC has added a new requirement for SPDs (Article 230.67) that requires all services supplying dwelling units be provided with a surge-protective device. This means every new home or apartment must have a Type 1 or 2 surge protective device installed integral or adjacent to the service equipment or installed immediately downstream at each next level distribution equipment. This new requirement also applies when service equipment is replaced. The Siemens BoltShield family of QSPD products allows this to be done easily and at a reasonable cost

 

[wwhitney]

California has not yet adopted the 2020 NEC. The 2017 NEC was adopted January 1, 2020, so I'm guessing the 2020 NEC will be adopted at the beginning of 2023.

Cheers, Wayne

 

[h2ofun]

California has not yet adopted the 2020 NEC. The 2017 NEC was adopted January 1, 2020, so I'm guessing the 2020 NEC will be adopted at the beginning of 2023.

Cheers, Wayne

For safety, etc, is this worth doing now? How do they install? I assume the GW cannot function as this feature? Can the device be put into the gateway, or generation panel, or subpanel?

 

[Silicon Desert]

Not up here where I live. I did install some surge protection devices into my breaker panel for a particular reason. I wonder who pushed that code through. As an electronics engineer, I'm having some issue with REQUIRING it on homes. Yes, I understand their reason, I just don't buy into the requirement.

 

[h2ofun]

Not up here where I live. I did install some surge protection devices into my breaker panel for a particular reason. I wonder who pushed that code through. As an electronics engineer, I'm having some issue with REQUIRING it on homes. Yes, I understand their reason, I just don't buy into the requirement.

So is it one device for an entire subpanel, or per circuit? How do they install?

 

[Silicon Desert]

Oh and I guess I didn't answer the question. There are MANY types of home surge protection devices. Typically, they plug into a spare open breaker in the main panel (the least expensive type) or in the case of the one you mention, ideally, they wire into the main supply panel that connects to services from the street. Expensive to buy and install, yet more protection. Keep in mind that NOTHING will prevent potential problems with home equipment if a surge is large enough. The idea is to protect the most common types of surges.

Usually it is one device for the whole home.

 

[Silicon Desert]

Oh and by the way, there are other threads about surge protection on here.
Whole House Surge Protection
There are others.

 

[daniel]

It was not required here (Maui) when I had my solar panels + Powerwalls installed, but my electrician recommended it when I had the NEMA 14-50 installed in the garage for charging the Model 3. Whole-house surge protection. I don't know any details. I trust the electrician so had it installed. Seemed like a good idea so I was predisposed to accept his recommendation.

 

[h2ofun]

It was not required here (Maui) when I had my solar panels + Powerwalls installed, but my electrician recommended it when I had the NEMA 14-50 installed in the garage for charging the Model 3. Whole-house surge protection. I don't know any details. I trust the electrician so had it installed. Seemed like a good idea so I was predisposed to accept his recommendation.

what did it cost?

 

[daniel]

what did it cost?

Sorry. Don't remember. In the larger picture of buying the house and installing solar and Powerwall the cost of the surge protector faded into insignificance.

 

[Silicon Desert]

It was not required here (Maui) when I had my solar panels + Powerwalls installed, but my electrician recommended it when I had the NEMA 14-50 installed in the garage for charging the Model 3. Whole-house surge protection. I don't know any details. I trust the electrician so had it installed. Seemed like a good idea so I was predisposed to accept his recommendation.

yup, I would say it is not a bad idea to install one if you don't mind spending the money. Not a terrible amount of money.

My personal preference is that if people want to install one, I like having the type where the MOV device can be easily replaced. That means either putting one into a spare breaker position or in a separate device that is wired to the main panel. There are a LOT of devices out there that are not easily replaceable and when they fail, a new one has to be re-wired into place. More expense. You might be surprised how often a MOV can fail due to a big surge.

 

[Ampster]

I have a friend in California who lost several micro inverters apparently to a surge. Since then he istalled a whole house protector on his main panel. I use one on my main panel.

 

[bob_p]

Our electrician installed relatively inexpensive surge protectors into each of our breaker panels.

When the solar/PowerWall system was installed, the installers did some re-wiring of the panels when connecting them to the Tesla Gateway and recommended we keep the surge protectors and even add separate breakers for them.

Several years ago we had a grid outage that caused problems with charging S/X vehicles in our area. I contacted Tesla and they claimed the onboard chargers had their own surge protectors, so we shouldn't have any problems, once the grid power issue was resolved.

And...

In our 2013 S P85, the primary onboard 40A charger failed immediately and had to be replaced to get the S to charge at all. And about a year later, the secondary 40A charger also failed. Tesla replaced both under our warranty.

However, we then had surge protectors added to the breaker panels to provide protection, despite Tesla's claims that their vehicles had onboard protection...

 

[Silicon Desert]

[QUOTE="bob_p, post: 5347154, member: 9450" we keep the surge protectors and even add separate breakers for them.
[/QUOTE]
Hmmm, I am scratching my head about that ?