Surge Protect Phone Systems

Why Surge Protect LAN and VIOP Phone Systems

Whether it’s a landline line phone system or a new digital VoIP phone system, the phone system is the backbone of most companies. If a phone system goes down employees cannot answer or makes phone calls. Customers go without answers and delays start to happen. Most of the time this can all be averted by a single surge protector on the incoming phone or data line to a home or facility. That one surge protector installed at or near the service entrance and grounded correctly is the difference between productive employees and idle employees.

Phone systems need dual protection. Even if you protect your business phone system with an electrical power surge protector, it is also exposed to damaging surges and ground potentials differences from other sources. Telephone and internet lines can conduct high voltage, so for full protection you should also guard against surges from your phone and cable lines. In short, any lines carrying signals into your phone system can carry a transient energy and can cause just as much damage as surges coming in on power lines.

The importance of SPDs at these location points cannot be overstated. Phone lines are a direct connect to communication equipment.

Surge Protect:
Telephone Systems
PBX Systems
NIU (Network Interface Unit)
Fire Alarm Systems
Modems
Routers

How to Protect Phone Lines?

Count incoming and outgoing phone lines to building. Select units to protect incoming phone lines as well as outgoing phone lines to other buildings and gates, etc. Surge protecting and grounding these pathways are absolutely essential for proper performance of equipment.

National Electric Code Recommends Phone, Cable & Satellite Type Surge Protection

NEC recommends incoming phone and cable surge protection. This protects and diverts unwanted transient surges from entering the home on incoming power wire, ground wire, phone lines, cable sheathing and center pin pathways. NEC requires that phone and cable company dMark locations to be located and grounded with a maximum five foot ground wire to the service entrance of the building. This makes all grounds short for and limits the voltage developed in the grounding connections during lightning strikes. Its recommended that satellite antenna cables should also be routed past the service entrance and grounded there. This is at times may be difficult to achieve but that does not mean remote grounding points along with a surge suppression diversion can be put in place to achieve adequate protection to bring the home up to NEC standards and IEEE recommended practices for power of sensitive electronic equipment and electronics loads. Areas of the country with dirty and unreliable power from the utility company should also be considered high risk areas. A lightning protection system (which refers to adding ground rods, copper points and down conductors to a building) will greatly reduce the risk of fires caused by lighting however it is inadequate to prevent damage to electrical and electronic satellite equipment.