Whole-house surge protectors are getting out of hand

I started installing the full panel surge units on every job about 2 years ago in Columbus, and I've seen a 40% jump in callbacks for nuisance trips after storms, even with no actual lightning hits. The cheap branch circuit protectors we used before never had this issue, and most homeowners dont want to pay an extra $180 for something that just resets itself. Am I the only one who thinks these things cause more headaches than they prevent?

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cameron_webb1mo ago

My buddy runs a service crew up in Cleveland and he had a homeowner call him out three times in one summer because the whole house unit kept tripping. Every time he showed up, the thing just reset itself and tested fine, but the customer was convinced he was getting ripped off. On the third trip he finally pulled the unit apart and found a tiny crack in the board from a transformer surge that never even made the lights flicker. The panel unit was doing its job, but nobody told the guy that nuisance trips can actually mean the protector is working hard, not failing. He swapped it for a cheaper branch unit on a dedicated line and the homeowner was happy, but now his company stopped recommending the full panel ones altogether. Just feels like the marketing says one thing and the real world says another.