Just picking a whole house unit randomly, even from big name brands, can be a waste of money. Installing whole house surge suppressors is a big money-making industry, and so if you do a search you'll see a lot of companies trying to sell you them. Most are useless for delicate electronics. BTW, in many US locales (I'm not sure where you live) it's illegal to do your own electrical system work without being licensed, and then there's the minor little issue that it can void your home owners insurance policy if you do. Nonetheless, as I mentioned, I use a whole house unit provided by the power company because it was cheap ($125) and they warrant it. I figure the power company's distribution transformer issues are the most likely scenarios it's protecting against, and using their recommended device is the conservative choice when you don't have better data.
While this guy may be biased, so take this article with a grain of salt, it appears to be well-written and factual:
http://www.us-tech.com/RelId/1082596/ISvars/default/Why_Whole_Building_Surge_Protectors_Don't_Work.htm
Surge suppression devices have a few important specifications:
- Clamp down voltage
- Response time (typically in nanoseconds, though I'm a skeptic about this spec)
- Suppression rating (in joules)
- Current rating (in amps)
Basically, you want a very low clamp down voltage for electronics (e.g. 140v), and that's not going to happen with a whole house device. I like this Tripp Lite unit because it has a low clamp down voltage, and Tripp Lite has a comprehensive spec sheet available for it. Most cheap surge protectors don't.
https://www.tripplite.com/isobar-6-outlet-surge-protector-6-ft-cord-3300-joules-diagnostic-leds~ISOBAR6ULTRA
But in the end surge protectors are a shot in the dark, pun intended. You can't ever be sure a given unit will be sufficient, which is why I try to unplug expensive electronics during electrical storms, and I use point of connection surge protectors for the delicate stuff, like cheaply made LCD TVs.