Let us begin with the understanding the power surge and its common causes. A power surge is simply an unexpected increase in voltage, it is also called transient voltage. The common causes are fluctuations caused by large appliances like ACs, washers, dryers, lightening, load dump at the power grid, improper wiring. 

It is commonly observed that electronics are sensitive to failure due to a power surge – a sudden burst of electricity higher than normal levels. One of the major differences between regular ceiling fans and BLDC ceiling fans is the electronics, so naturally, the question of protection of the electronics in the BLDC ceiling fans against the surge is a valid one.   

This surge failure is minimized by adding a protective circuit – surge protection.  The measure of protection of this Circuit is usually represented in kV and uS pulses. Ex. Superfan surge protection is 10kV 8/20uS pulses – this means the Circuit protects the rest of the electronics for surge pulse at our below 10kV for the duration of 8/20uS.  

We can consider electronics in the BLDC fans as equivalent to a variable frequency drive, so the IEC 61800-3 standard could be followed, which states a minimum requirement of 2kV protection.

As of early 2021, we tested popular BLDC fans in an external lab at various power surges the following are results,  

S.No	Fan Brand	Pass up to (Single pulse)	Fail at
1	Atomberg Gorilla (MFG on Feb 2019)		2KV
2	Atomberg Renesa (MFG on March 2020)		2KV
3	Atomberg Naveo (MFG on Jan 2021)	–	2KV
4	Orient i-Float (MFG on Feb 2020)	4KV	6KV
5	Orient Aero slim (MFG on March 2019)	4KV	6KV
6	Orient Eco Quasar	4KV	6KV
7	Usha Technix Nidec (MFG on May 2018)	2KV	4KV
8	Havells (MFG on 2019)	4KV	6KV
9	HY-FA (MFG on 2019)	6KV	8KV
10	CG Energion (MFG on Jan 2020)	6KV	8KV

Superfan was put through the same test in the same lab facility at the same time. Superfan withstood 50 – 10kV pulses and was still working at the end of the test. There was no provision in the lab facility to test beyond 10kV, it is the cap at the facility. 

#	Brand	Protection level	No. of 10kV pulses	Status
1	Superfan	10kV	50	Product still working

As per these results, it seems that has the highest surge protection. Our intent was to design a fan that will protect the ceiling fan to low intensity lightening on top of protecting it from other causes of a power surge.  

Fans are ubiquitous appliances and many are not connected to the grid with no protection against the surge. Currently, Superfan seems to be the only ceiling fan that offers protection that can withstand lightning to a certain level. This is another instance of Superfan adding value to the consumer through focusing the engineering on reliability, longevity, and sustainability.

Does this mean Superfan or any other BLDC ceiling fan cannot fail due to surge (or lightning) at all? 

No. The fans will fail if the surge is higher than the protection, so choosing higher protection would offer better and longer protection against power surges.  

Contact us at 1800 425 78737 or email at superfan@superfan.in to know more.