Patent ID: 8345400

Claim:
A surge suppression circuit for a load control device including a filter circuit and a load control circuit, the filter circuit having first and second connections adapted to receive an AC mains line voltage from an AC power source, and third and fourth connections adapted to be coupled to the load control circuit, the filter circuit operable to prevent noise generated by the load control circuit from being provided to the AC power source, the filter circuit having one or more inductive components, the surge suppression circuit comprising: a clamping device electrically coupled between the first and second connections of the filter circuit; a first spark gap coupled between the first and third connections of the filter circuit for limiting the magnitude of the voltage generated between the first and third connections by the inductive components of the filter circuit; and a second spark gap coupled between the second and fourth connections of the filter circuit for limiting the magnitude of the voltage generated between the second and fourth connections by the inductive components of the filter circuit.