Discuss SPD’s in dwellings. in the Electrical Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net

Welcome to ElectriciansForums.net - The American Electrical Advice Forum
Head straight to the main forums to chat by click here:   American Electrical Advice Forum

Reaction score
20
Got a rewire coming up. Need to fit the new cu. Is it compulsory to fit a SPD?
Pretty sure I interpreted from the regs something along the lines that it’s mainly needed for equipment that will be damaged from under voltage or over voltage or if it will cause danger to any persons. Also if you warn the client about the implications of not installing it is okay to not install it?
I mean let’s be honest what is a spd really going to do for a 3 bed house? If I’m wrong, please educate me a little. I love to learn. I know I can hit the books and read, but you guys have some interesting insights! :cool:
 
The cost of SPDs now easily outweighs the cost of the installation.

Grab a beer and get on Youtube to learn about SPDs.
 
I mean let’s be honest what is a spd really going to do for a 3 bed house?

It will protect the installation against surges, the clue is in the name of the device.

You need to make an assessment of the benefit of the SPD versus the cost of it. Compare the cost of the SPD to the replacement cost of all the equipment it would protect.
Usually an SPD for a domestic CU is significantly cheaper to install then it is to replace the average TV, let alone eall of the other appliances that could be damaged by a surge.
 
I agree with all the comments above, but. How many times have you been to an installation that has been damaged due to the lack of a SPD? Are they really necessary or just clever marketing?
 
I agree with all the comments above, but. How many times have you been to an installation that has been damaged due to the lack of a SPD? Are they really necessary or just clever marketing?

Or I would ask 'How many appliance faults have been caused by surges over the years?'
 
I think @Ian1981 mentioned this last week and we are similar the cost is built into the job the client doesn't have a say. We don't do much domestic but whatever scope of job this is what you get.
 
in my own house, i probably wouldn't bother.
at a customers place, why wouldn't you?
£50 on the price of the job, 30 to 40 on the cost of materials. quid's in??

the last thing you want is a customer coming back to you in 10 months time saying that all there tv's and computers have gone bang and they cant understand why because they have an up to date electrical installation and thought it should protect there equipment.
right or wrong, it is an argument that you don't need to have.
 
I agree with all the comments above, but. How many times have you been to an installation that has been damaged due to the lack of a SPD? Are they really necessary or just clever marketing?

Personally never as far as I know, but then I've only been to a tiny fraction of the number of installations in this country so the sample size is far too small to make this a valid reason not to fit one.

I have seen a couple of pieces of equipment which have suffered damage which may have been caused by a surge and could have been prevented by an SPD.
 
I am going for the clever marketing theory.

Not seen many things damaged by a surge.
Seen stuff destroyed by lightning, spd not going to protect against that.
Seen stuff damaged by loss of neutral, not sure if spd could protect against prolonged overvoltage.
 
I am going for the clever marketing theory.

Not seen many things damaged by a surge.
Seen stuff destroyed by lightning, spd not going to protect against that.
Seen stuff damaged by loss of neutral, not sure if spd could protect against prolonged overvoltage.

You wouldn't normally know whether a faulty piece of equipment became faulty because of a voltage spike. It certainly happens.

And although an SPD obviously wouldn't protect against a direct lightning strike, it could well protect against induced spikes on power lines that have been caused by nearby strikes.

I'm reminded of a company which once reduced the cost of one of its products by removing surge protection diodes. Guess what happened to the failure rate? Then tell me SPDs are not a good thing.
 
I am going for the clever marketing theory.

Not seen many things damaged by a surge.
Seen stuff destroyed by lightning, spd not going to protect against that.
Seen stuff damaged by loss of neutral, not sure if spd could protect against prolonged overvoltage.

The fact you have not seenany suggests that you have seen some?

What about things that stopped working but the reason was never investigated, how many of them might have been caused by surges?
 
You don't have to fit an SPD in a single dwelling unit. You don't need to do a risk assessment

It might be a good idea to fit one, depending on cost.

The problem I have is I really like to fit Hager consumer units. I don't know if its the same for everyone, but adding an SPD is costing me more like £80 extra so I tend not to as the customers are not keen on that much extra cost.
 
Just fit it.
It will protect the installation against surges, the clue is in the name of the device.

You need to make an assessment of the benefit of the SPD versus the cost of it. Compare the cost of the SPD to the replacement cost of all the equipment it would protect.
Usually an SPD for a domestic CU is significantly cheaper to install then it is to replace the average TV, let alone eall of the other appliances that could be damaged by a surge.
Yeah I mean I know what it does really but over many years I’ve never had any equipment mess up due to a surge or anyone else have this problem. Probably will just fit it after reading everyone’s views
[automerge]1596229367[/automerge]
£30 for a SPD is a no brainer. No reason really not to fit them, unless of course there is absolutely no chance they are needed.
Was planning to fit a Hager board, the spd is about £70-80. Need to look for one included.
 
Yeah I mean I know what it does really but over many years I’ve never had any equipment mess up due to a surge or anyone else have this problem. Probably will just fit it after reading everyone’s views

But you don't know that. It's often difficult to prove what actually causes equipment to fail.
 
over many years I’ve never had any equipment mess up due to a surge or anyone else have this problem.

How much failed electronic equipment have you actually looked at in detail to establish the cause of it being damaged?

As for knowing of other people having seen it, it's not exactly going to be the first thing your friends tell you about when you speak to them.

In my life I've known of quite a few appliances stop working for no apparent reason and never bothered to find out why, just replaced them and carried on. TVs, microwaves, boiler programmers, the clock in gas cookers, countless phone chargers.
 

Reply to SPD’s in dwellings. in the Electrical Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net

OFFICIAL SPONSORS

Electrical Goods - Electrical Tools - Brand Names Electrician Courses Green Electrical Goods PCB Way Electrical Goods - Electrical Tools - Brand Names Pushfit Wire Connectors Electric Underfloor Heating Electrician Courses
These Official Forum Sponsors May Provide Discounts to Regular Forum Members - If you would like to sponsor us then CLICK HERE and post a thread with who you are, and we'll send you some stats etc

Electrical Forum

Welcome to the Electrical Forum at ElectriciansForums.net. The friendliest electrical forum online. General electrical questions and answers can be found in the electrical forum.
This website was designed, optimised and is hosted by Untold Media. Operating under the name Untold Media since 2001.
Back
Top
AdBlock Detected

We get it, advertisements are annoying!

Sure, ad-blocking software does a great job at blocking ads, but it also blocks useful features of our website. For the best site experience please disable your AdBlocker.

I've Disabled AdBlock