A surge protective device (SPD – Surge Protective Device) can be degraded without the control indicator clearly indicating it. This silent component, yet essential to protecting your electronic equipment, deserves active and regular monitoring. This is exactly what Alert@ir DC from LPS France offers: a solution for remote monitoring of your surge protective devices, fully integrated into the LPS Manager platform.
The challenge of surge protective device monitoring
Type 1, Type 2 and Type 3 surge protective devices according to IEC 62305-4 absorb lightning-originated overvoltages to protect downstream equipment. Each absorption causes progressive degradation of internal components (MOV varistors). An 80% degraded surge protective device can display a green indicator and appear operational, while it no longer provides adequate protection.
Furthermore, the IEC 62305-4 standard requires periodic SPD inspections, particularly after each confirmed lightning strike. Without an impact detection system, it is impossible to know when an inspection is necessary. You end up either performing unnecessary and costly interventions, or leaving a degraded surge protective device in service.
Alert@ir DC: wireless diagnostic monitoring
Alert@ir DC is a wireless monitoring module specially designed for surge protective devices. Installed near the electrical panel or the surge protective device to be monitored, it enables:
- Remote diagnosis of the surge protective device condition
- Detection and time-stamping of lightning strikes affecting the SPD
- Data transmission to the LPS Manager platform for supervision and archiving
- Automatic alert generation in case of anomaly or detected impact
Thanks to Alert@ir DC, you know exactly when and why to intervene on your surge protective devices, without unnecessary systematic visits.
Two installation configurations adapted to each site
Alert@ir DC adapts to your site’s connectivity through two distinct configurations:
Configuration 1: sites connected to a fixed network (WiFi/LAN)
For industrial, tertiary or commercial buildings with network connectivity:
- Alert@ir DC — monitoring module installed at the surge protective device level
- Contact@ir® — 868 MHz radio transmitter on the lightning rod or surge protective device
- Rout@ir® — fixed radio receiver with WiFi/LAN connection, 300 m range
The Rout@ir receives radio data from Contact@ir and transmits it via the local network or WiFi to the LPS Manager cloud. You thus have real-time supervision from any web browser or from the LPS Manager application.
Configuration 2: isolated sites (no fixed network)
For installations in rural areas, isolated industrial sites, pylons or infrastructures without LAN/WiFi connection:
- Alert@ir DC — monitoring module at the surge protective device level
- Contact@ir MD — IoT/integrated SIM variant with direct transmission to the LPS Manager cloud via mobile network
Contact@ir MD is a plug-and-play solution: simply install it on the site, without network infrastructure. The integrated SIM card ensures IoT connectivity and automatic data transmission to LPS Manager.
LPS Manager: the central hub for your Alert@ir DC data
Regardless of the configuration chosen, all data collected by your Alert@ir DC devices is sent to the LPS Manager platform. This cloud SaaS platform offers you:
- Real-time dashboards: status of all your surge protective devices on a single interface
- Impact history: date, time, estimated intensity of each recorded overvoltage
- Automatic alerts: immediate notification by email or push in case of anomaly or significant impact
- Multi-site tracking: manage hundreds of devices across different sites from a single platform
- PDF report generation: time-stamped history for your audits, insurers and maintenance records
Regulatory compliance and cost optimization
Active monitoring via Alert@ir DC + LPS Manager allows you to meet the requirements of the IEC 62305-4 standard in an optimized manner:
- Proven compliance: each impact is time-stamped, each inspection is traceable in LPS Manager
- Reduced intervention costs: you intervene only when an impact has been detected, not systematically and potentially unnecessarily
- Warranty protection: traceability of inspections is a key argument for maintaining product warranties and insurance coverage
- Anticipating failures: active monitoring allows you to replace degraded surge protective devices before an overvoltage causes damage
Who is Alert@ir DC for?
Alert@ir DC is intended for all installation managers with surge protective devices to monitor:
- HSE and maintenance managers in industrial environments (ICPE, ATEX, Seveso)
- Multi-site real estate asset managers
- Engineering firms and installers offering intelligent maintenance contracts
- Datacenters and critical infrastructure operators
Conclusion
Alert@ir DC represents a major advance in predictive maintenance of lightning protection systems. By combining real-time impact detection with the supervision power of LPS Manager, you move from costly reactive maintenance to proactive management of your surge protective devices.
Find Alert@ir DC and the entire Contact@ir ecosystem on the LPS France shop. For a demonstration of LPS Manager with your Alert@ir DC data, discover all the features of the platform.
