Whole-home surge protectors offer an important layer of defense for your valuable electronics against damaging power surges. While the overall installation cost can vary, understanding the key factors involved can help you make informed decisions.
This guide will explore the different aspects that influence the cost of installing a whole-home surge protector:
Bottom line: If your home has a subpanel, you might need to install an additional surge protector on this panel—which will increase the cost of the overall installation.
So, every home has a “main” electrical panel. It’s that rectangular metal box on the wall (usually located in the garage, storage room or basement).
What your home’s main electrical panel looks like (usually, the main panel will have a metal door to protect the circuit breakers inside).
The main electrical panel is what receives electrical power from the utility company and then distributes that power to all the circuits in your home.
But some homes also have what’s called a “subpanel”. These subpanels work and look exactly like the main electrical panel (sometimes slightly smaller in size) but instead of receiving power directly from the grid, they receive power from your main panel.
Two reasons your home might have a subpanel installed include:
Unfortunately, most subpanels will need a separate surge protector to protect the circuits it serves (especially if the subpanel powers electrical appliances).
Surge protectors are sort of like cars—the overall price completely depends on the type/brand of car as well as the features it offers.
Whole-home surge protectors are priced according to their:
(Yeah, we know those probably look like gibberish, so we’ll explain more below.)
Bottom line: The more reputable the brand of your surge protector, the higher the cost of the unit.
Some well-known reputable brands that offer whole-home surge protectors include:
Bottom line: The lower the VPR of a whole-home surge protector, the higher the cost of the unit.
The Voltage Protective Rating of a whole-home surge protector is also referred to as the “clamping voltage”. This basically measures how high a power surge has to be before the surge protector “clamps down” and absorbs the extra voltage.
Bottom line: The higher a whole-home surge protectors MCOV, the higher the cost of the unit.
The Maximum Continuous Operating Voltage tells you how much voltage the surge protector can handle in a continuous, steady overload condition (vs just a momentary surge) and remain operational.
The MCOV is an important rating to consider because if you choose a surge protector with too low of a MCOV, it can quickly overheat and cause a fire (not to mention fail prematurely).
We suggest that you choose a surge protector with an MOV that’s at least 15% higher than your home’s nominal voltage. Since most homes in the US have a nominal voltage of around 120V, we’d suggest choosing a unit with a MCOV of at least 138V.
Note: You should ask an electrician what MCOV your home needs as the nominal voltage can vary from house to house (and even day to day).
Bottom line: The higher a whole-home surge protector’s Maximum Surge Current Capacity, the higher the cost of the unit.
The Maximum Surge Current Capacity of a whole-home surge protector is measured in kA (one thousand amps). This basically tells you how large a surge the unit can survive. After the unit absorbs a surge higher than its kA amperage, the unit will need to be replaced.
A whole-home surge protector usually has a Maximum Surge Current Capacity anywhere from 20kA (the minimum that the IEEE recommends your surge protector has) to over 108kA.
Our recommendation is to find a surge protector with atleast a 20kA Maximum Surge Current Capacity.
Bottom line: The more extensive the warranty, the more expensive the overall cost of the surge protector installation.
Some manufacturers offer a warranty for a certain number of years (i.e., 2–5 years) and some will offer “limited lifetime” warranties—which basically means it will cover the cost of any damaged appliances under certain circumstances for the lifespan of the surge protector.
But here’s the thing to remember most of the time, whole-home surge protector warranties aren’t as great as they sound. They usually contain so many fine-print limitations that even if your appliances are damaged while the surge protector was healthy and in use, you won’t see any money from the manufacturer.
For example: Typically, a manufacturer won’t cover damage to appliances when a whole-home surge protector is in place if:
Our suggestion is not to invest too much in a warranty based on how much they guarantee to payback for damaged appliances. Instead, choose a surge protector with a warranty that protects against “workmanship defects” for at least 3 years.
This means the manufacturer will repair or replace the surge protector for free if it fails due to defects in workmanship within a certain time (at least 3 years).
The bottom line: The higher the quality the electrician, the more expensive the overall cost of the surge protector installation.
Like any installation, you get what you pay for. That means, if you choose a contractor that has rock-bottom prices, you’re likely not going to get a solid installation. And when you’re dealing with the protection of your home’s electrical system, you don’t want to skimp.
Our suggestion is to choose an electrician based on whether they:
We offer:
Once you contact us, we’ll send over an experienced electrician who can offer a free and fair estimate on your whole-home surge protector install.
For your convenience, you can request an appointment in one of two ways:
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