Continually changing climate conditions, combined with the increasing dependence of developed countries on fossil fuels, has pushed interest in renewable energy sources to the forefront globally.  While all green energy technologies are being developed and refined, wind power is one of the most promising.  As governments put forth aggressive programs designed to increase their wind power production, these increases to the amount of wind turbines bring forth an additional increased statistic.  With more wind turbines comes more damage as a result of lightning strikes.  Surge protection has become a critical component when viewed by the majority of people interested in these developing technologies. (more…)

When nations worldwide attempt to increase their power production capabilities in order to satisfy their growing populations, the discussions of which methodology should be used to produce this power become critical.  Utilization of fossil fuel technologies has a proven track record of stability and the ability to satisfy demand.  The tradeoff to the rollout of these types of power production methods is pollution and damage to the environment.  Additionally, fossil fuel prices can fluctuate dramatically, creating chaos where stability is necessary.  The utilization of green technologies to produce the same power eliminates the instability of fossil fuel prices from the discussion.  The wind is a free source of fuel which can turn the turbines the same way that the burning of fossil fuels does.  Because the fuel source has no cost, the maintenance and upkeep of the systems are the only costs which must be covered by consumers.  These production methods also do not produce pollution or release damaging elements to the climate.  The drawback to the widespread utilization of wind power is that the systems are more sensitive to damage as a result of inclement weather than fossil fuel systems.  In a nutshell, lightning strikes and other environmental factors that can cause damage to the physical structures involved in wind power generation drive costs higher than fossil fuel production methods, at the current time.  Through experimentation and utilization of technologically advanced surge protection systems, the opportunity to drive down costs presents itself. (more…)

Industrial installations are very much like the components that you have within your home, only on a significantly higher level of both cost and electrical consumption. These components are also more robust than anything that you would see in a residential area, in every capacity.  Because of the increased demands on these types of components, efforts are made to create the toughest equipment possible. One thing that is surprising about many industrial systems is that they utilize components that are easily damaged through excess electricity. You can make the shell as tough as you want, but the equipment can still be damaged through electricity moving along the lines that connect it to other equipment in the system. What this means is that even though steps are taken to create as much shielding from the elements as possible, there is a certain amount of damage that is expected to happen to these pieces of equipment simply due to power surges. The electricity that flows within industrial areas is significantly higher than in residential. The utilization of larger equipment for processes requires it to be so. This also requires that the typical power lines that connect equipment to the power grid are able to handle substantially higher loads. The issues happen when power surges occur beyond the levels that are expected, and out of the range that the internal circuitry of this equipment can handle. (more…)

Read More: https://www.raycap.com/lightning-surge-protection-for-residential-and-commercial-applications/

Surge protection and lightning protection are similar concepts with independent systems involved in each function.  While there is crossover between the two with regardto protection of sensitive equipment and computerized systems against surges, the lightning protection models involve both different equipment as well as a different philosophy.  For the sake of discussion, the sources of each type of power surge must be identified, and even though the methodology utilized against power surges of all types remains the same, the identification of the source will determine whether standardized surge protection or lightning protection created the savings against loss. (more…)

Read More: https://www.raycap.com/industrial-surge-protection/

When one thinks about the damage that is associated with a lightning strike, the typical person will think about explosions and fires at the point where the lightning comes into contact with a structure or a component.  Naturally, businesses that are at risk of a lightning strike due to their generalized placement or their natural setups, are going to need to install protective measures against these instances or risk catastrophic loss of business equipment.  Most industrial businesses realize that they are targets for lightning strikes due to the fact that they are located in remote areas or feature the tallest structures in the region.  Additionally, many industrial processes will utilize metallic elements that are a natural attractant for lightning.  Most businesses will take steps to protect the critical equipment utilized in their processes by housing it inside of protected spaces.  (more…)

Read More: https://www.raycap.com/lightning-surge-protection-for-residential-and-commercial-applications/

Surge protection and lightning protection may seem to be the same thing, but they are slightly different.  Surge protection itself can be defined as the utilization of devices and systems in a way which protect sensitive equipment from power fluctuations.  Lighting protection also involves surge protection but includes systems and methods which will divert lightning strikes from happening to a facility or structure.  The damage as a result of lightning can be found in multiple manifestations, the most obvious being the explosion and fire damage that happens at the strike point itself.  Lightning protection provides systems that will attempt to divert the lightning strike (more…)

The wind power industry is still evolving, but ultimately the technology that goes into the manufacturing of electricity by capturing the force of  wind is not where the major evolutions are occurring. Using the wind to turn blades on windmills has been around for centuries, generally being used to perform some function that requires movement. This movement can be channeled into the performance of an action, and that action can be supplied to a wide variety of tasks. While windmills once were used to do things like grind grain or churn butter, they evolved into equipment which is  capable of manufacturing electricity. Electricity was originally created for public use through turbines connected to generators, ultimately resulting in the brushes inside of a generator moving and producing the product. The wind and windmills were able to perform the function of turning the generator brushes and the created electricity could be stored and supplied to those that need it. (more…)

When you pick up a cell phone and make a call or connect to the internet, it seems to just magically connect. Your device seems to just automatically put you in touch with the things that you need, sending and receiving information “magically” through the air. Few people spend the time to look into the process that actually makes those connections happen, and fewer still understand the business behind the technology. We all complain about high cell phone bills and the lack of reception we will find in certain areas. We get irritated if the calls are not perfectly clear, or if it takes too long to download a picture. The technology that makes all these processes happen is truly amazing, and is continually improving to offer consumers even more than they currently have. (more…)

Your Data Surge Protection Plan

Read More:  https://www.raycap.com/data-surge-protection-2/

Ask anyone who has endured a computer crash if they regret not backing of their data before the incident happened.  Most people will go through their daily lives assuming that their computer acts like a storage drawer, where anything that you put inside it will ultimately be able to be retrieved.  Entire businesses have been built upon attempting to retrieve data that has been lost in the unfortunate event of a computer crash.  Suddenly, all of the things that were stored on the computer become more important to the person who owns it, some of it being regretfully lost forever and some of it potentially being able to be salvaged in exchange for a high price.  Most people are shocked by the cost of data recovery services, and are forced to decide based upon the value of the information vs.  the amount of cost to retrieve it.  Now imagine if this were the information that allows your business to operate in a streamlined fashion, or potentially to operate at all.  Data loss on that scale can be devastating.  Therefore, the small efforts that individuals will eventually take after learning their lesson the hard way are the same lessons that businesses will employ either before or after some form of data loss.  The smart businesses will plan before hand, and all the rest will plan after they have been subjected to the pains of losing data. (more…)