Surge protective devices(SPDs) are widely used as a most effective means protecting the electrical and electronic equipment against overvoltages such as lightning and switching surges. When installing SPDs, it is essential that the voltage protection level provided by SPDs should be lower than the withstand voltage of the equipment being protected. But even the proper selection of SPDs are achieved, the voltage at the equipment terminal may be higher than the residual voltage of SPD due to the reflection and oscillation phenomena. This paper was focused on the investigations of the conditions for which the equipment is protected by an SPD taking into account the influences of the protective distance and type of load. The protective effects of SPD with voltage-limiting component were analyzed as functions of types of load and protective distance between the SPD and load. As a result, in the cases of long protective distances, capacitive loads and loads with high resistance, the voltage at the load terminal was significantly higher than the residual voltage of SPD. It was found that the proper installation of SPDs should be carried out by taking into account the protective distance and type of load to achieve reliable protection of electronic equipments against surges.