[ohhtay]

Can anyone give a recommendation and price on a whole house surge protector?

[retiredguy123]

SECO charges $349, or you can rent it for $5.95 per month. There are a lot of other threads on this topic. Do a search. The surge protector is attached to the back side of your electric meter. Most people don't have them. In my opinion, they are not worth buying because they don't provide much protection to your house, and, if you have damage, the warranty will exclude almost everything. Read the warranty.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

mine was custom installed by Galaxy, and it costs about $500. . . what does it do? protects against locally created surges. Most electrical distribution grids contain surge protectors to protect the home. I remember in the early nineties walking down a hallway in an office building in Boca Raton and hearing the surge protectors clicking away with the surges during electrical storms.

Today, the grid is completely upgraded, and the surges are few and far between. However, locally created surges from local lightning surges is what the protector will help protect from. Note I said help protect from, because the closer the hit, the less the surge protector is able to handle. . . its an odds game. . . probability very low, but probability higher here than other places, whose local does not start with FL. I look at the expense as a small insurance product over the next 10 years, will be $50 per year. . . paid up front, so that if the house does get a direct hit, the insurance company will pay. . .

internet lawyers need not tell me to read my policy, thanks in advance

[retiredguy123]

I don't know about the Galaxy warranty, but the SECO warranty is very entertaining to read. I read the "exclusions" section about 3 times, and I could not identify anything in my house that would NOT be excluded from the warranty, if a surge occurred.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

I don't know about the Galaxy warranty, but the SECO warranty is very entertaining to read. I read the "exclusions" section about 3 times, and I could not identify anything in my house that would NOT be excluded from the warranty, if a surge occurred.

Yeah, I am not expecting to claim anything on warranty from a failed surge protection. I am only expecting insurance coverage if the house gets a direct hit. . retail, cheap small items' warranties are mostly uncollectible legal mumbo, so that was not the reason for buying.

For the most part, its a first step in protecting from big but not ginormous surges which are relatively few and far between, but can be a pain in the ass with all kinds of electronics. . .

[GpaVader]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

I don't know about the Galaxy warranty, but the SECO warranty is very entertaining to read. I read the "exclusions" section about 3 times, and I could not identify anything in my house that would NOT be excluded from the warranty, if a surge occurred.

The warranty is very good and covers everything. We went with the Galaxy solution and if Mike Holmes says it does a good job its good enough for me....

[davem4616]

the electric company will put a device in between the meter and your house...I've had it done in this home and a previous home that I've owned in FL...something like $5/mo

I'll still get some surges, but it rare....most everything electronic that I care about is also on a surge stick

[Altavia]

There no way to prevent lightening damage, all you can do is reduce the risk. Whole house plus local protectors for expensive items is the best you can do.

Having had a house hit, fixing/replacing more a dozen items and working with the insurance took time and was a lot of work.

So I do things, like surge protectors, that cost less than my insurance deductable to reduce the risk.

[Stu from NYC]

We purchased the whole house surge protector about a year ago.

Does it really prevent expensive electronic stuff from being ruined? Who knows but between that and individual surge protectors figured it was the best we can do.

[retiredguy123]

If a $350 device attached to your electric meter is needed to prevent harmful power surges in your house, why doesn't the power company incorporate the device into the meter in the first place? I think it is shameful for the power company to try to sell an add-on product to your house for extra profit, that is obviously not needed or it would already be part of their equipment.

[JoMar]

We had Pike install a panel whole house surge protector, plus we have surge protectors on the electronics and battery backup on the tv's and computers. I suspect it will handle a minor surge but if anything severe happens probably will lose stuff

[CoachKandSportsguy]

Originally Posted by JoMar

We had Pike install a panel whole house surge protector, plus we have surge protectors on the electronics and battery backup on the tv's and computers. I suspect it will handle a minor surge but if anything severe happens probably will lose stuff

put the battery backup on the cable modem and router/switches if you have them. . otherwise, battery backup on the computers won't help because the network is down

[rsmurano]

Surge protector on the meter or in the panel is the way to go for $6 a month. I lease them because if they fail, the electric company will replace it for free. You buy a unit for $500 and it fails/or works because it caught a surge, you have to buy another and have it put in.
You can’t put surge protectors on every outlet in your house say for your dryer/over/furnace/air conditioning unit, so the whole house surge protectors are needed.
Most people buy the cheapest surge protectors for their TV’s and stereo systems and they rob you of performance. I went fairly cheap for a surge/noise conditioner box for my home theater tv/stereo at $500, but for a really nice surge/line conditioner for a good/great audio system, they can cost up to $10k, which will regenerate the power for your system.

[Catalina36]

Makes sense to me. $6.00 per month $72.00 per year vs. to purchase at $500 or $600. My rental fee will be good for 7 years
and if the surge protector fails and needs to be replaced I am not responsible. Sounds like that's the way to go.

[midiwiz]

yet it will offer next to no protection for anything. I'll explain, surge protection for the most part is an imaginary thing for a lot of people. People delve into these things expecting that if lightning strikes they will be protected. This is false.

Quite seriously even the largest of surge devices provide no protection against lightning strikes. it happens far too fast for the electronics to detect. As for the little "bumps in the middle" some of these prices mentioned are far too high for those. Power provided today is provided in a better manner than 10 years ago.

If you are that concerned still, you are better off just buying an outlet box type for whatever it is you feel requires it. It costs far less for the "comfort" you wish to feel.

You will get the exact same results.