Whole-Home Surge Protection
The equipment a power strip cannot protect
Plug-in surge strips protect the things you plug in. They do nothing for your furnace control board, your range, the garage door opener, or the LED drivers in your ceiling — which is most of what a surge actually costs you.
- Panel-mounted surge protective device
- Protects hardwired equipment
- Layered with point-of-use strips
- Installed in a single visit
How surges happen
Most of them start inside your house
Lightning gets the attention. It is not what damages most equipment.
Internal switching
Large motors starting and stopping — HVAC compressors, well pumps, refrigeration — create small surges dozens of times a day. Cumulative wear, not a single event.
Utility events
Grid switching, a downed line, a transformer fault, or power returning after an outage. Common enough in storm season here.
Nearby lightning
A direct strike is rare. A strike anywhere on the local distribution network can still push a substantial transient down the line to you.
Installing during a panel replacement is the cheapest time — see panel upgrades if you are already considering one.
Why it matters
What it does and does not do
Clamps the transient at the panel
A surge protective device diverts excess voltage before it travels to your circuits, protecting everything downstream at once.
Covers hardwired equipment
Furnace and AC control boards, ranges, dishwashers, garage door openers, hardwired LED fixtures. None of that is behind a power strip.
Works with point-of-use strips, not instead
The panel device handles the big transient; a good strip at the desk handles what gets past it. Layered protection is the correct model.
It is not a guarantee
A direct lightning strike to the house can exceed any device. This substantially reduces risk rather than eliminating it, and we would rather say that.
Worth it?
An honest cost comparison
This is a small job with a clear economic case, which is rare in electrical work.
A panel-mounted surge device and its installation costs less than one furnace control board. It costs far less than a range, a refrigerator, or a whole-house LED lighting retrofit. Given how much of a modern home is now electronics with sensitive boards inside — even the appliances that used to be purely mechanical — the math is straightforward for most households. It is cheapest to install during a panel replacement since we are already in there, but it is a quick standalone visit if your panel has space. If your panel has no room for it, we will tell you that rather than forcing it in.
How we work
What to expect when you call
- 01
Check the panel
Available space, bus condition and grounding. Surge devices depend on a solid ground to do their job.
- 02
Quote it plainly
Device, install and permit if required. This is usually a short visit and a small number.
- 03
Install and verify
Device installed and connected on a dedicated breaker, indicator confirmed, and grounding checked.
Free estimate
Get surge protection installed
Tell us your panel brand and main breaker size. If you are already planning a panel upgrade, mention it — this is cheaper bundled.
Related: panel upgrade, generator and transfer switch, electrical repair, GFCI and AFCI, signs of electrical problems
Something electrical that is not getting better on its own?
Call for anything urgent, or send the form and we will get back to you within one business day with a real number.