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Per Mode and Per Phase Ratings Defined

 Per Mode and Per Phase Ratings Defined

When describing Surge Protective Devices (SPDs), manufacturers typically specify surge capacity ratings as either “Per Mode” or “Per Phase.”
Users can sometimes be confused by these terms. This paper describes how these terms apply to SPD ratings and demonstrates their application
to a four-wire Wye system, which is among the most common wiring configurations. The principles explained herein can be applied to wiring
systems using other voltages and configurations.

Available Surge Pathways

Surge protective devices protect electrical equipment and circuits by shunting excessive transient overvoltages from one conductor to another
as current. The most common designs use Metal Oxide Varistors (MOVs) to shunt current between conductors within a circuit. Constructed of
semi-conductor materials, MOVs do not conduct current at nominal circuit voltages, but become conductive when transient voltages exceed
the components’ Maximum Continuous Operating Voltage (MCOV). When this occurs, MOVs shunt the excess voltage to another conductor
as current.

Four-wire systems are comprised of three line conductors, commonly labeled Phase A, Phase B, and Phase C, together with a neutral conductor
and a ground conductor. To shunt transient overvoltages, four types of pathways, or modes, are available to connect these conductors, specifically
Line-to-Neutral, Line-to Ground, Neutral-to-Ground, and Line-to-Line. Figure 1 below illustrates these modes.

Phase A Line-to-Ground Line-to-Line

Phase B

Neutral-to-Ground
N Line-to-Neutral

Phase C

G
Figure 1

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 Phase C
Line-to-Neutral Protection

In a four-wire Wye system, modes of protection can be provided by shunting overvoltages from the phase (or “line”) conductors to the neutral
conductor. This provides three modes of protection,
G as shown in Figure 2.

Phase A 1
Line-to-Neutral

Phase B 2

3
N
Phase A 1

Phase B 2
Phase C

3 4
N
G
Figure 2
Line-to-Neutral
While the arrangement in Figure 2 might provide basic protection, it can only mitigate surges that originate on one of the phase conductors
or on the neutral conductor. For example, if lightning were to strike theCearth near a facility’s ground rod, a transient overvoltage could travel
Phase
along the ground conductor as a Ground Potential Rise and damage connected load equipment. By adding the Neutral-to-Ground protection
shown in Figure 3 below, the overvoltage could be dissipated through the MOVs to attempt to equalize the voltage on each conductor. This
goal is better accomplished with an SPD having directly connected Line-to-Ground MOVs, addressed elsewhere in this document.
G
Phase A 1
Line-to-Neutral
Neutral-to-Ground
Phase B 2

3 4
N

Phase C

G
Figure 3
Line-to-Neutral
It is common practice to provide Neutral-to-Ground protection on most SPDs. One exception is for SPDs located near building service entrances
Neutral-to-Ground
or at the bonding/grounding point of a separately derived system. In grounded systems, the circuit’s neutral and ground conductors are bonded
together. This negates the need to provide surge protection between these conductors at these locations. However, surge protection becomes
necessary farther from the Neutral-to-Ground bond, where voltage potentials can occur during surge conditions.

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 Phase B 2 5

Occasionally, there are objections to shunting overvoltage transients to the grounding conductor. Objectors cite Article 250.6(A) of the National
Electrical Code®, which requires the grounding conductors serving equipment, including SPDs, to be free of objectionable
3 currents. However,
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Article 250.6(C) further states that temporary currents resulting from abnormal conditions shall not be classified as objectionable currents.
Because SPDs mitigate transient overvoltages that decayNin milliseconds, these currents are temporary in nature. Thus, shunting transient
overvoltages to ground appears to be consistent with the code.

Line-to-Ground Protection
Phase C 6
Line-to-Ground protection provides additional modes for directing overvoltage transients away from the phase conductors to prevent equipment
damage. As shown in Figure 4 below, adding an MOV between each line conductor and ground provides seven modes for directing surges.
This is the most popular SPD configuration for protecting Wye circuits, and can be used at any location within a power distribution system.
Manufacturers often refer to this configuration as “all-mode” or “seven-mode” protection.
G
Phase A 1 4
Line-to-Neutral
Line-to-Ground
Phase B 2 5 Neutral-to-Ground

3 7
N

Phase C 6

G
Figure 4
Line-to-Neutral
Both seven-mode and 10-mode units clamp voltages on all 10 available modes through directly and indirectly connected pathways. For instance,
Line-to-Ground
transients that pass through Line-to-Neutral modes indirectly provide protection from Line-to-Line, as shown in Figure 5.
Neutral-to-Ground

Phase A Phase B
300 MCOV

150
MC OV
OV C
150M
N

G
Phase C
Figure 5
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 N

Line-to-Line Protection
Phase C 6
Installing directly connected MOVs from Line-to-Line provides three additional direct pathways for shunting transient overvoltages,
directing voltage along every available conductor in a 4-Wire Grounded Wye system. Whether 10-Mode SPDs actually provide additional
protection could depend on an SPD’s location relative to a building’s grounding point. If an SPD were located close to a ground rod, transients
would be effectively shunted to ground, regardless of whether seven or 10-mode protection is used. A 10-mode SPD is shown in Figure 6.
G
Phase A 1 4 8 10
Line-to-Neutral
Line-to-Ground
Phase B 2 5 9 Neutral-to-Ground
Line-to-Line

3 7
Per Mode
N
Phase A 1 4

Phase C 6 B
Phase 2 5

G 3 7
Figure 6
N Line-to-Neutral
Line-to-Ground
“Per Mode” Ratings Neutral-to-Ground
Line-to-Line
Manufacturers typically specify surge capacity ratings as either “Per Mode” or “Per Phase”. The following diagrams illustrate how these terms
apply to SPD ratings. Phase C 6

In seven-mode SPDs, MOV’s are applied as shown in Figure 7. In this example, each MOV offers 50 kA of capacity for protecting against
transient overvoltages, and the “Per Mode” rating would equal 50kA.

G Per Mode
Phase A 1 4
Line-to-Neutral
Line-to-Ground
Phase B 2 5 Neutral-to-Ground

3 7
N

Phase C 6

G
Figure 7
Line-to-Neutral
Line-to-Ground
Neutral-to-Ground

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 Phase A

Phase B

The ASCO Model 430 offers per mode ratings of

50kA or 100kA by adding MOVs.
N

To increase surge capacity, additionalPhase

components
C can be added in parallel in any mode. In Figure 8 below, three 50 kA MOVs serve each
pathway. Although using 3 MOVs increases the surge capacity to 150 kA per mode, the SPD is still considered to be a seven-mode protector.
While the illustrations provided in this document show MOVs of equal capacity on every mode, some SPD designs use differing quantities of
MOVs or MPVs of differing capacity on various modes.
G
Phase A
Line-to-Neutral
Line-to-Ground
Phase B Neutral-to-Ground

Phase C

G
Figure 8
Line-to-Neutral
“Per Phase” Ratings Line-to-Ground
Neutral-to-Ground

While the prior “Per Mode” rating is accurate, there is an equally valid rating termed “Per Phase”. A Per Phase rating is the sum of surge current
capacity connected to each phase conductor along the Line-to-Neutral and Line-to-Ground modes. For instance, in Figure 9 on the following
page, there are two pathways for shunting current from Phase A. One passes along the Phase A-to-Neutral pathway and one passes along the
Phase A-to-Ground pathway. If a surge occurred on Phase A, the excess voltage would travel as current along the two separate pathways to
the neutral and ground conductors, providing additional capacity. Adding the capacities of the two MOVs produces a nominal 100 kA rating
for Phase A.

The differences between the rating methods can become greater when additional pathways are available to include in “Per Phase” rating. In
Figure 10 on the following page, each phase is connected to other conductors using four MOVs. The “Per Phase” rating could be nominally
summed as high as 200 kA, even though the “Per Mode” rating remains at 50 kA.

Industry practices for rating SPDs vary, and may include the value of only one of the two Line-to-Line pathways that are available for each
phase. Using this method, the SPD above could be nominally rated at 150 kA per phase. Until practices are codified in an industry standard,
users should understand exactly how per phase ratings apply to specific SPDs.

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 Per Phase
G

Phase A 1 4 Line-to-Neutral
Per Phase Line-to-Ground
Neutral-to-Ground
Phase B 2 5
Phase A 1 4 8 10

Phase B 3 2 75 9
N

3 7
N
Phase C 6

G Phase C 6
Figure 9 Line-to-Neutral
Per Phase Line-to-Ground
Neutral-to-Ground
G
Phase A 1 4 8 10
Line-to-Neutral
Line-to-Ground
Phase B 2 5 9 Neutral-to-Ground
Line-to-Line

3 7
N

Phase C 6

Figure 10 Line-to-Neutral
Line-to-Ground
Neutral-to-Ground
Summary Line-to-Line

Per Mode ratings are based on the capacity of any single mode to shunt overvoltage transients. In contrast, Per Phase ratings are based on
an SPD’s total capacity to shunt overvoltage transients away from a phase conductor. ASCO reports “Per Phase” ratings to indicate the total
capacity of its SPDs. Nevertheless, users should understand how “Per Mode” and “Per Phase” ratings are derived so that they can accurately
compare SPDs from different manufacturers.

References
1. National Fire Protection Association, NFPA 70 - National Electrical Code, Fourteenth Edition, 2017. Quincy, Massachusetts, 2016.

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The ASCO and ASCO Power Technologies marks are owned by Emerson Electric Co. or its affiliates and utilized herein under license. ©2017 ASCO Power Technologies. All Rights Reserved.

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