Good or Best Surge Protector

Everyone, thank you very much for the great responses and ideas.  I love being able to ask questions on this forum and get such great, thoughtful responses.  I had not thought about the whole home surge protector, which is a great idea.  And 2 of you recommended Environmental Potentials, which I had not heard of.  I will be getting a whole home surge protector, and will look into the EP and others recommended here and then add some kind of surge protector/conditioner inside the house to hook my gear up to.  Don't take possession of the new house til January 28, but this gives me time to get the electrician out there for the whole home surge protector.  Again, to everyone who has responded, thank you so much for your time and your thoughtful responses.  

A whole house + point of use is really best. The whole house is good, but the let through voltage is still high for your delicate gear.

Surge protectors from Brickwall, Furman and TrippLite have much lower let through voltages, so the combination of in-panel and point of use is essential, and what’s recommended. :)

I live in SC now and we get real thunderstorms, and I use what I’m recommending: Whole house by the panel maker, Furman for my audio gear and TrippLites elsewhere. During a bad one my smart light switch had to be reset, but nothing on my Furman or TrippLites had any trouble at all.

I’m not a big believer in uber pricey sockets, but if you are moving into a new home, replacing existing one’s with commercial grade, tamper resistant outlets is probably worthwhile, especially if they’ve used backstab connections. The combination of aging socket + poor reliability of those connections is a real headache Go ahead and replace them for peace of mind. Should be ~ $30 for a pack of 10.

Well, I guess I would add...

I have not experienced, but read of lighting striking near a house and frying half the electronics within without touching the electrical.

Personally, I would contact your insurance provider and inform them of your most expensive piece and have the item(s) as an actual cost+ replacement plan added to your policy. I believe unless noted in the policy, maximum claim is about 3k per item.

@erik_squires 

I agree.. Whole house is good for appliances and such, but for delicate computer, stereo gear.. A Brickwall surge protected used with whole house breaker protection is your best bet. I use this setup here in NC

Well, I guess I would add...

I have not experienced, but read of lighting striking near a house and frying half the electronics within without touching the electrical.

It is extremely rare, but it does happen.  If you are playing the odds this is not the bet to take, anymore than not wearing a seat belt because you think getting thrown clear of your car is a good idea. 99.9% of damaging power surge issues won't be like this.

It's important to note that in-panel / in-meter surge protectors have been added to the NEC because of life-safety issues as much as anything else.  Whatever you do, this is the one thing you really should.

I do go 1 step further btw, I also air-gap my incoming Internet connection via fiber adapters. 

Best,

Erik