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	Subject - Whole House Surge Protectors Romex Racer I see that some of you guys install these, I'll have to check with my supplier, but in general, how much do these devices cost? How much do you sell them for? I think I can sell these, and it looks like a 5 minute job putting one in. What brand do you use? Are they "for real"? I mean, you know that surge supressor plug strips are bogus, but is this something that will really help my customers? Any problems or unexpected things? Thanks a bunch! ..........................RR Electricman I think my boss charges about 100 bucks to install on a new service I will ask. mahlere RR. Do some quick research on them. The best way to protect an electrical system is through both a whole house and good quality plug in surge protectors. The reason is that the whole house will take the hit from anything outside of the house (utility surge, downed pole, lightning, etc) and the plug in at the point of use take the surges from inside the house (AC condensor, refrigerator motor, etc) But any research you do will tell you that in order to really have any protection, you need both. As for cost, we install Square D QO (if you do more than 35-40 panels a year, get onto a buying program through your supply house - we pay less for QO than for Siemens) They have a plug in protector, takes approx 2-3 mins to unpackage and install. Our cost is around $60 and we get around $250 to install (all of our services are replacements/upgrades - no new construction) But I feel they are worth it, I even have it in my house. Good luck, Erik wilkie RR, We use Cutler Hammer's surge products for several reasons. Primarily, they offer tremendous warranty and have a complete and flexible line. As you know, surge is a system. We use their max and ultra models on the service in combination with a phone module, and three to four strips. When we are finished the customer can have up to 75k of warranty on everything that is hard-wired in the house and/or plugged into one of their strips. Their main surge devices for your service also come with a lifetime warranty on the product itself. Having worked with them over the last several years, I can tell you how easy they are to work with and most importantly how satisfied our customers are. I'm not trying to say SquareD or Ge or whatever loadcenter you prefer isn't good. CH surge products can be applied to existing panels of different brands; however to you new construction guys, we have done extremely well with CH integrated surge panels with the additional features of mechanically interlocking generator covers. It is an extremely flexible, and profitable loadcenter. The surge unit can be installed so that the customer can see the LED lights through the deadfront. Every time we do a service upgrade, we give the customer the opportunity to protect their home. I encourage you to check out Cutler Hammer's product line on this. lctrc789 I have a whole house surge protector and install them in as many new panels as I can but I do caution people to say that a lightning strike to a cable line, telephone line, or a utility line, a even to a tree can cause damage and there is no real protection from lightning at all..... I always write up any service agreement or estimate with the words as AN APPARENT LIGHTNING strike has caused the following problems there is no real way to say that lightning came in or out and what it did and it is nearly impossible to prove that it did.... There is nothing that we have that can protect us from a lightning strike and many things may help but no guarantees of any kind, it always appears that lightning damage cuases many problems and you always hear well the house was grounded properly and the house did have surge protectors and so forth why did the television or computer or GFCI or transformers blow.... because as insurance company will tell you you are protected the best you can be but lightning is to unpredictable .... wilkie On all of our surge packages, they come with a main surge unit, phone surge unit, cable unit, and three strips to use throughout the home. We try to install a complete system, but I agree about lightning. Nobody that I'm aware of warranties a direct strike. WELLSEROUSKI Man! My house was hit by L. and there was actuaul physical evidence to see when the adjuster came out from USAA. The metal gable vent had black marks all around it and some of the facia was blown away. AS well as some wiring and metal brackets that held together the trusses that had melted and disconnected.( looked like solder had melted and formed little round balls ). Weirdly the romex outer coating had black marks and stayed in tact but when I broke it apart the actual wire was melted with rounded ends on the conductors. Insurance paid for new ( computer,dryer,microwave,phones and repair of exterior damage ) SWEET! Just a note..The firemen that came out that night said that they get alot of calls in this area after a lightning storm and they think that it is because we might be on an iron plate beneath the earth. Go figure?