Hey @ejr1953 - I don’t think that’s a down grade, honestly.
I know it looks impressive, but look at the clamping voltage. The in-panel units should be rated the same, and are cheaper in large part because they don’t take an extra case.
The only down side of them IMHO may be lack of an audible alert when they blow.
As I wrote before though: In panel surge protectors are superior due to the lack of cabling. They have an intimate, high frequency attachment to the power buss. Surges tend to be high frequency, far above 60 Hz. Any induction on the line to the surge protector will increase the effective clamping voltage (a bad thing).
So, yeah, I get it, those big metal boxes with 3 gauge wiring look all that, but they are 1 breaker pair plus the wiring away from the surge.
I know it looks impressive, but look at the clamping voltage. The in-panel units should be rated the same, and are cheaper in large part because they don’t take an extra case.
The only down side of them IMHO may be lack of an audible alert when they blow.
As I wrote before though: In panel surge protectors are superior due to the lack of cabling. They have an intimate, high frequency attachment to the power buss. Surges tend to be high frequency, far above 60 Hz. Any induction on the line to the surge protector will increase the effective clamping voltage (a bad thing).
So, yeah, I get it, those big metal boxes with 3 gauge wiring look all that, but they are 1 breaker pair plus the wiring away from the surge.