Monitoring of SPD surge protective devices: impact detection and predictive maintenance with LPS Manager
Introduction
Your surge protective cartridge shows green — but your SPD may have taken three lightning strikes this month. This observation alone summarizes the fundamental limitation of traditional monitoring: an on/off indicator does not tell you how many times your surge protective device has been stressed. In industrial facilities, tertiary buildings, and sites subject to ICPE regulations, this blind spot is an unacceptable risk.
LPS Manager transforms SPD surge protective device supervision into a proactive process: each lightning strike is detected, timestamped, archived, and correlated with the health status of your equipment. The SaaS platform centralizes complete lightning protection — lightning rods and surge protective devices — in a single dashboard.
The limitations of traditional SPD surge protective device monitoring
Most installations still rely on periodic physical inspections. This passive approach presents critical gaps for networks subject to actual lightning stress.
The inadequacy of “on/off” indicators
Traditionally, monitoring a surge protective device is limited to its local mechanical indicator light. This indicator only changes from green to red when the component is permanently out of service.
This binary method has several technical shortcomings:
- No impact traceability: impossible to know if the SPD received 0, 1, or 10 impacts since the last visit.
- No advance warning: the indicator signals component failure, without information about its gradual degradation.
- Requires human presence: the information requires a technician to be physically in front of the cabinet.
- Information latency: weeks or months may pass between a lightning event and its detection.
However, according to NF C 17-102:2011 standard, verification is mandatory after each impact. Without detection, this obligation is impossible to comply with.
The risks of unanticipated failure — ICPE issues and liability
The lack of monitoring creates a particularly dangerous “blind spot” for ICPE-classified sites. In case of an incident, the facility manager’s liability can be engaged if they cannot prove that post-impact inspections were carried out.
The operational consequences are severe:
- Exposure to overvoltages: a degraded SPD no longer protects downstream equipment.
- Production shutdowns: destruction of sensitive equipment results in direct losses.
- Emergency costs: an unplanned intervention costs 3 to 5 times more than scheduled maintenance.
- ICPE/ATEX non-compliance: lack of traceability during a DREAL audit.
Two complementary alert signals for your SPD devices
To go beyond visual inspection, LPS Manager uses two indicators: impact detection as the main trigger, and leakage current monitoring as a secondary aging indicator.
Lightning impact detection: the trigger for mandatory maintenance
The Contact@ir sensor installed on your lightning rods and surge protective devices detects each lightning current passage. Upon impact, LPS Manager:
- Records the event with precise timestamping.
- Generates an automatic alert (email/SMS) to the maintenance manager.
- Triggers a periodic inspection request (VPI) in accordance with NF C 17-102:2011 standard.
- Documents the intervention in a standardized PDF report.
This automatic workflow ensures compliance without manual entry and provides traceable documentation during DREAL audits or insurance company inspections.
Leakage current: a complementary aging indicator
Leakage current (Ipe) corresponds to the residual current flowing through the surge protective device under nominal voltage. In a healthy component, it remains minimal (a few microamperes). It increases gradually with varistor aging — especially after repeated shocks.
The progression follows this pattern:
- Stable state: constant and very low leakage current.
- Active degradation: measurable increase (µA → mA) correlated with recorded impacts.
- Thermal runaway: exponential increase before disconnector activation.
Monitoring this trend, in addition to impact counting, allows you to plan replacement before loss of protection — and avoid emergency costs.
Continuous monitoring: optimize the safety and compliance of your installations
IoT integration in electrical panels enables the shift from passive to active safety, with complete real-time network visibility.
Benefits of real-time monitoring
- Immediate responsiveness: instant alert (SMS, email) upon impact or anomaly.
- Event history: shock amplitude, timestamping, correlation with equipment failures.
- Reduced site visits: remote diagnosis — intervene only if necessary.
- Automatic PDF reports: compliance proof generated without manual entry.
|
Criterion |
Traditional monitoring |
LPS Manager monitoring |
|---|---|---|
|
Frequency |
Annual (occasional) |
24/7 (real-time) |
|
Impact detection |
Impossible |
Automatic + timestamping |
|
VPI triggering |
Manual / forgotten |
Automatic after impact |
|
Traceability |
Manual / incomplete |
Cloud, verifiable, PDF |
|
Cost |
High (systematic visits) |
Reduced (targeted intervention) |
Applicable standards: IEC 62305-4, IEC 61643-11/12, NF C 15-100 §443
Active monitoring of surge protective devices falls within the following normative framework:
- IEC 62305-4 / NF EN 62305-4: protection of electronic systems against lightning — requires coordination between external lightning protection and internal protection (SPD).
- IEC 61643-11 and IEC 61643-12: specifications for low voltage surge protective devices and communication lines.
- NF C 15-100 §443: surge protection requirements in building electrical installations.
- NF C 17-102:2011: mandatory verification after each impact and according to the frequency of the protection level.
LPS Manager ensures compliance with all these standards with complete traceability of interventions. Each alert, impact, and corrective action is timestamped and archived in the digital log — legal proof of the operator’s diligence during DREAL audits or insurance company inspections.
LPS Manager: your complete SPD supervision solution
To address these issues, LPS Manager proposes an ecosystem combining detection hardware and supervision software, compatible with all types of surge protective devices.
A SaaS platform dedicated to lightning protection
LPS Manager centralizes all data related to lightning protection. Accessible via web or mobile, it provides a complete overview of your fleet with immediate color coding and alerts targeted by site and equipment.
Contact@ir sensors: impact detection without wiring modifications
The intelligent Contact@ir sensor installs on existing surge protective devices and lightning rods without modifying the wiring. It uses 868 MHz radio technology for reliable transmission even in metallic environments. This module ensures two essential functions: detection of lightning current passage and precise identification of the affected equipment within the panel.
Rout@ir and Contact@ir MD: data access according to available infrastructure
To transmit information to the cloud platform, LPS France offers gateways adapted to each context:
- Rout@ir: fixed WiFi/LAN concentrator for connected industrial and tertiary sites.
- Contact@ir MD: IoT module with integrated SIM for isolated sites (photovoltaic parks, water towers, remote ICPE sites) — guarantees alert transmission without local network infrastructure.
- Dongl@ir: portable USB receiver for itinerant technicians (range ~100m) — local data reading without internet connection.
This flexibility ensures that each installation, regardless of location, benefits from the same level of supervision and traceability.
Conclusion: from detection to compliance, without chain breakage
Monitoring of SPD surge protective devices can no longer rely solely on a green indicator light. Each lightning strike is a regulatory event that triggers a verification obligation — LPS Manager handles this automatically. By combining impact detection, continuous monitoring, and PDF report generation, the platform transforms a regulatory constraint into a competitive advantage. For managers of ICPE sites, industrial facilities, or multi-site operations, it is the certainty of always being in compliance, with verifiable proof at the click of a button.
Frequently asked questions about SPD surge protective device monitoring
What is the difference between Type 2 and Type 3 SPD?
Type 2 SPD is installed in the main panel (TGBT) — it discharges indirect lightning currents (8/20 µs waveform, IEC 61643-11 standard). Type 3 SPD is fine protection placed as close as possible to sensitive equipment: lower discharge capacity but very low voltage protection level (Up) to secure fragile electronics.
How do you control a surge protective device in compliance with regulations?
Three control levels coexist. The first is visual (green/red indicator). The second uses an external tester during a periodic visit. The third — the only one guaranteeing NF C 17-102:2011 compliance — is continuous monitoring via Contact@ir + LPS Manager: each impact automatically triggers a VPI request, traceable and documented.
What does SPD mean in electricity?
SPD stands for “Surge Protective Device.” It is a component designed to limit transient overvoltages of lightning or grid origin and derive currents to ground, in accordance with NF C 15-100 §443 and IEC 61643-11 standards.
Why is impact counting essential for ICPE sites?
The NF C 17-102:2011 standard requires verification after each impact. Without automatic detection, this obligation cannot be met. For ICPE sites, the absence of impact traceability constitutes a regulatory failure that can engage the facility manager’s liability during a DREAL audit. LPS Manager provides this traceability automatically, from the first detected impact.
