SPD surge protective devices (Surge Protective Devices) are discreet but critical equipment in any lightning protection installation. Yet their maintenance is often neglected due to lack of visibility: a triggered or degraded surge protective device can remain in place for months without anyone noticing, leaving the installation exposed to overvoltages. IoT monitoring radically changes this by making predictive maintenance of surge protective devices possible.
In this article, we explain how connected monitoring transforms the management of SPD surge protective devices — and why installers and engineering firms are rapidly adopting this approach for their clients.
The problem: reactive SPD maintenance is expensive
A Type 1 or Type 2 SPD surge protective device is designed to absorb overvoltages caused by indirect lightning. With each significant stress, its internal components degrade. When absorption capacity is exhausted, the fault indicator lights up — but someone needs to be there to see it.
Traditionally, SPD maintenance relies on scheduled manual inspection tours at fixed intervals (often annual). This approach has several limitations:
- Zero responsiveness: a surge protective device can remain out of service for 11 months before being checked
- High travel costs: each site visit requires personnel and generates logistical costs
- Silent non-compliance: an installation without a functioning surge protective device no longer meets the requirements of standard NF EN 62305-4
- Lack of traceability: without automated history, compliance reports are difficult to produce
For ICPE or ATEX sites, this gap can have serious regulatory and insurance consequences.
IoT monitoring: detecting anomalies before they become incidents
The principle of IoT monitoring applied to surge protective devices is simple: equip each SPD (or each panel containing it) with a connected sensor that transmits in real-time the state of the surge protective device, the count of absorbed overvoltages, and any detected anomaly.
The Contact@ir system from LPS France integrates natively into this logic. Combined with the Compt@ir (IoT lightning strike counter), it enables you to:
- Detect each overvoltage recorded on the installation
- Send an automatic alert after a significant impact
- Identify SPDs requiring priority inspection without sending a technician to all sites
- Timestamp each event for regulatory traceability
Contact@ir MD: the solution for isolated sites
For sites without Wi-Fi or Ethernet network, the Contact@ir MD offers IoT connectivity via mobile network (integrated SIM). This plug-and-play device installs in minutes on any installation without specific network cabling.
LPS Manager: the centralized SPD alert management platform
Data sent back by Contact@ir sensors feed directly into the LPS Manager platform. From a single interface, installers and lightning protection fleet managers can:
- View in real-time the status of all their SPDs across the entire client portfolio
- Receive targeted alerts as soon as an impact is detected or an SPD needs inspection
- Plan interventions only on sites that need them (condition-based maintenance)
- Automatically generate reports compliant with NF EN 62305 for audit files
The result is concrete: according to field feedback, switching to predictive maintenance via LPS Manager makes it possible to reduce unnecessary preventive site visits by up to 70%, while improving responsiveness after impact.
Predictive maintenance vs preventive maintenance: what’s the difference?
- Classical preventive maintenance: scheduled annual visit, regardless of actual lightning activity — expensive and sometimes unnecessary
- IoT predictive maintenance: intervention triggered by a real signal (detected impact, fault indicator, wear threshold reached) — more efficient and less costly
For SPD surge protective devices, whose service life depends directly on the number and intensity of absorbed overvoltages (and not on a fixed schedule), predictive maintenance is the most suitable approach.
Compliance and traceability: a regulatory issue
Standard NF EN 62305-4 requires that installed surge protective devices be maintained in working order and that their inspection be documented. For installations subject to regulatory obligations (ICPE, ERP, ATEX sites), traceability of inspections is an essential element during DREAL inspections or insurer audits.
LPS Manager automatically centralizes:
- The history of alerts and verifications by site and equipment
- Compliance reports generatable with one click
- Timestamped intervention sheets associated with each SPD in the portfolio
This digital traceability advantageously replaces paper files and reduces the risk of silent non-compliance.
For which profiles is this approach suitable?
IoT monitoring of surge protective devices is particularly suited to:
- Lightning protection installers managing dozens of client sites: reduction of unnecessary tours, better responsiveness after storms
- Engineering firms wishing to differentiate their offer with digital predictive monitoring
- Industrial technical managers wanting to avoid any outage caused by an undetected overvoltage
- Real estate portfolio managers with documented maintenance obligations
Conclusion: IoT monitoring, a profitable investment for lightning protection management
Predictive maintenance of SPD surge protective devices through IoT monitoring is no longer a future technology: it is an accessible reality, deployed on thousands of sites with Contact@ir and LPS Manager solutions. It enables you to move from a calendar-based inspection logic to an intelligent intervention logic, based on real data.
The benefits are measurable: fewer unnecessary site visits, better regulatory compliance, complete traceability, and maximum responsiveness after impact. Discover LPS Manager’s features and evaluate how this approach can transform the management of your clients’ lightning protection portfolio.
