The delay setting – the time between fault-triggered shutdown and automatic restoration – is not a one-size-fits-all parameter. Understanding the distinct roles of 5-second (5s), 30-second (30s), and 5-minute (5m) delays ensures your equipment receives tailored protection.
Three Delays, Three Protection Strategies
1: 5-Second Delay (5S)
- Positioning: Quick response, handling brief, minor voltage fluctuations.
- Applicable Scenarios:
- Relatively good grid quality, with occasional transient surges (e.g., nearby small equipment starting/stopping, minor lightning induction).
- Protecting pure resistive devices (e.g., incandescent bulbs, electric kettles) or small electronic devices insensitive to brief power interruptions.
- Characteristics:
- Advantages: Shortest waiting time, minimal impact on user experience.
- Disadvantages:****NOT suitable for refrigerators, air conditioners, or any devices with compressors! 5 seconds is insufficient for the compressor to fully depressurize; forced starting can easily cause damage. If the grid remains unstable, it may cause the protector to trigger frequently ("frequent triggering").
- Positioning: The gold standard for homes. Highly versatile and safe.
- Applicable Scenarios:
- The preferred choice for the vast majority of home, office, and shop environments!
- Protecting circuits containing refrigeration appliances with compressors (fridges, ACs).
- Protecting common household appliances like TVs, computers, and washing machines.
- Installed on branch circuits or in front of individual devices.
- Characteristics:
- Advantages: Provides sufficient time for grid stabilization; gives fridge/AC compressors basically adequate time to depressurize (significantly reducing the risk of starting under load); balances safety and waiting time.
- Disadvantages: May still be insufficient for particularly severe grid faults or extremely sensitive equipment.
- Positioning: Extended cooling-off period, handling severe or persistent faults, protecting highly sensitive or critical devices.
- Applicable Scenarios:
- Poor grid environments where fault resolution might take longer (e.g., frequent outages, old wiring areas).
- Protecting extremely important, expensive, or precision equipment (e.g., high-end workstations, professional audio systems, medical devices, specific industrial equipment).
- Installed at the main incoming power switch for a home or small premises, providing the highest level of buffered protection for all downstream devices.
- Providing the most thorough depressurization protection for compressor-based devices.
- Characteristics:
- Advantages: Provides the longest time for grid stabilization and equipment cooling/depressurization, offering the strongest protection.
- Disadvantages: Significantly longer waiting time (3 minutes), impacting device usability experience (e.g., fridge contents warming during the outage).
- Vast Majority of Home Users: Choose 30S without hesitation! This is the optimal choice balancing safety (protecting fridges/ACs) and practicality (acceptable wait time).
- Protecting Refrigerators, Air Conditioners & Other Cooling Appliances: You MUST choose 30S or 3M! You must NEVER choose 5S! 30S is the minimum; 3M offers superior protection.
- Main Switch / Main Circuit Breaker Location: It is recommended to choose 30S or 3M. This protects the widest range, requiring greater caution.
- Harsh Grid Environment or Protecting Special/High-Value Equipment: Prioritize 3M.
- Protecting Only Non-Compressor Devices (e.g., Lighting) in an Excellent Grid: 5S can be considered, but 30S remains a safer, more universal choice.
