The most significant differences between the surges occurring from lightning and those from other sources is the strength and the duration of the surge.
Surges that are caused by normal load switching and motor drives are extremely fast and can typically be suppressed by use of solid state devices such as MOVs, or metal oxide varistors.
Surges caused by lightning last a significantly greater amount of time and cannot be handled by solid state devices. To suppress lightning-induced surges, a device must be able to divert extremely high levels of voltage and current away from sensitive equipment, repeatedly and with minimal depletion.
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