Whole House Surge Arrester

Gentlemen - thanks for your responses.  Although I am not prone to lightning surges where I live, there is a possibility of other types of surges (faults etc). 

Once the warranty expires, the SA will likely still work, but there is no guarantee. To me, that defeats the purpose of getting the SA in the first place. 

@erik_squires - thanks for the info on the Siemens SA's - does look like they have a 10 yr warranty, but I couldn't find info on $ coverages - I will do further research.  I don't think that my electric utility offers surge protection - I'll have to inquire.  

Amortizing the $350-400 cost over 5 years is $6-7 per month, versus the much more sizable investment cost made in one’s system and other electrical apparatus. Was a pretty straightforward cost/risk decision for me making the initial WHSA investment and knowing that there was a chance of having to replicate that lower end cost.

@facten - excellent point. Thanks.

SPD WARRANTY COVERAGE:
During the time period (the “Warranty Term”) stated below and subject to all Conditions and Limitations stated below, Siemens Industry warrants to the original purchaser who purchases a new Siemens Surge Protective Device ( " SPD") directly from Siemens Industry or its authorized distributor that the SPD is free of any significant defect in design, materials and workmanship and further warrants the SPD against damage by an electrical surge as defined by IEEE C62.41 (except and excluding any sustained over-voltage and any direct lightning strike ) . Should the SPD be determined to be defective or damaged by electrical surge during the applicable Warranty Term, Siemens Industry will either repair the SPD or replace it with a product of like kind and quality for the benefit of the original purchaser, at the election of Siemens Industry.

( except and excluding any sustained over-voltage and any direct lightning strike ).

CONNECTED EQUIPMENT COVERAGE:
THE CONNECTED EQUIPMENT COVERAGE UNDER THIS WARRANTY IS SECONDARY TO ANY OTHER APPLICABLE POLICY, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE, MANUFACTURERS WARRANTIES, SERVICE CONTRACTS AND EXTENDED WARRANTY PLANS. COVERAGE SHALL APPLY TO ONLY THAT PORTION OF THE COSTS FOR REPAIR OR REPLACEMENT THAT EXCEEDS THE LIMITS OF COVERAGE UNDER THE ABOVE MENTIONED POLICIES AND DOES NOT COVER DEDUCTIBLES REQUIRED BY OTHER POLICIES.

The warranty language is pretty much the same for all SPDs (Surge Protection Device)s.

What you want to research and read is the customer reviews...

Warranty

I have an Eaton, which was well reviewed at the time I bought it. It has two LEDs-which purport to show running state (I don’t know if they accurately reflect that). I have enough occasions to have an electrician here to do other stuff that it isn’t a huge outlay, considering the hi-fi system. I also have a surge panel in the big iso-transformer (10kVa) which feeds the main hi-fi system panel, rather than point of use, and had all connections, breakers, etc. gone over when the system was installed several years ago.

I don’t remember what the warranty is on the fancy $500+ plus whole house surge.

Given the limitations that @jea48  posted above, even if it is a longer warranty, the exclusions may leave you in the same place.

We get the fringes of some crazy storms here in Austin- usually stuff that wipes out towns with flooding, tornados, hail, etc. and wrath of God bolts from the sky. And we are in a fairly protected area, nowhere near the epicenter of these storms. I’ll pull power if it is a really bad one, but so far, have had little reason to do that.