John R.
“Carlos and Aiden were prompt, polite, and an awesome duo. They knocked out a tough day replacing an ancient panel.”
John R.
Subpanel replacement
Whole-home surge protection in Santa Cruz County
Type 2 surge protective devices at the panel — one install that protects everything downstream.
4.9 stars, 162 reviews on Google — See the reviews behind this rating (opens in a new tab)BBB Accredited · A+ (opens in a new tab)CSLB #C10-109723720-year workmanship guaranteeType 2 device at the service panelPermit + inspection handled
What this is
A whole-home surge protector is a Type 2 surge protective device installed at your service panel, on the load side of the main disconnect. It sits there doing nothing until voltage on the incoming service spikes past what your wiring and appliances are built for, then diverts that energy to ground before it reaches your branch circuits. One device, wired into one panel, covers everything downstream of it.
Why surge protection became standard
The reason this went from optional to standard is what is now plugged into a house. A surge used to cost you a television. Today the expensive things on a residential service are electronic: a heat pump's inverter board, an EV charger, a solar inverter, a battery system, mini-split control boards, well pump controls, and the smart devices that have quietly replaced every mechanical switch in the house. In this county the surges mostly are not lightning. They are the grid — a line reclosing after a tree-contact fault in the San Lorenzo Valley, restoration after a PSPS shutoff, routine utility switching, and the transients your own large motors throw back onto the service every time they cycle.
When a retrofit is the right job
This page is for a panel that is staying. Your existing panel is sound, the service is not being replaced, and you want the protection retrofitted into the equipment you already have. That is a defined, self-contained job: one device, one dedicated breaker, one panel, and a grounding path checked before anything goes in. If the panel itself turns out to be the problem, a surge device is the wrong place to put the money, and we will say so and point you at the 200A panel upgrade instead. Most shops will not send a truck out for a job this small on an older home. We will.
What a surge protector does not cover
Worth being straight about what this does not do. A Type 2 device at the panel handles transients arriving on the service and the ones your own equipment generates. It is not lightning protection — a direct strike is a different problem with a different answer. It does not protect what comes in on coax, ethernet, or a satellite line, which need their own protection at their own entry points. It does not cover a detached shop or ADU running off its own subpanel unless that panel gets its own device. And surge protective devices are consumable: they absorb energy over their life and eventually stop protecting, usually with no symptom other than the status indicator changing. Anyone telling you one box makes a house immune to surges is overselling it.
When you need this
- You've added a heat pump, an EV charger, solar, or a battery, and the equipment on your service is now worth more than the panel feeding it
- Your panel is sound and staying, so the protection has to be retrofitted into the panel you already have
- You've lost electronics after an outage restoration or a PSPS event and would rather not repeat it
- You're on a rural or tree-heavy circuit in the San Lorenzo Valley or the mountains where a line reclosing after a fault is routine
- You work from home, and the office gear, the network, and a well pump are all on the same service
- You already have other panel work booked and want the device added while the cover is off
04What's included
Exactly what we handle — and the two things you handle.
Sunrise provides
- A Type 2 surge protective device rated for a residential service, landed on a dedicated two-pole breaker matched to your panel brand for the listing
- Lead length kept as short as practical, which is what actually determines how well the device performs
- Grounding and bonding verified before the device goes in — a surge device with a poor ground path is decoration
- A panel condition check while the cover is off, and an honest read if what you actually need is panel work instead
- Breaker directory updated, and the device's status indicator pointed out to you so you know what it looks like when it has done its job
- Permit pulled and inspection coordinated where the jurisdiction requires one for work inside existing service equipment
Warranty: 20-year workmanship warranty on our installation, transferable to the next owner — see warranty terms. The device itself carries its manufacturer's own terms, and we hand you their paperwork rather than paraphrase it. · Permits: pulled + inspection coordinated by us, built into the quote · Cleanup: Drop cloth down, packaging and offcuts leave with us, panel cover back on and the directory updated in legible handwriting. Nothing to patch on a job this size.
You provide
- Access to the panel, with clear space in front of it
- A power-down window while the panel is de-energized for the install
05How it works
Start to finish, with real times.
1On the phone, before we schedule
Book the visit
Tell us your panel brand and roughly how old the panel is, or send a photo of the label and the inside of the door. That is usually enough for us to know whether a device will land cleanly or whether there is a compatibility problem to solve first.
2Before anything is installed
Panel check on arrival
Before anything is installed, the tech confirms there is usable space, that a compatible breaker is available for your panel brand, and that grounding and bonding are sound. If the panel is a Federal Pacific, a Zinsco, or otherwise at end of life, we will tell you a surge device is the wrong place to spend the money.
3A power-down window, confirmed with you first
Install
Panel de-energized, device mounted, dedicated breaker landed, leads kept short and routed cleanly, connections torqued to spec, cover back on and power restored.
4Before we leave
Walkthrough
We show you the status indicator and what a failed device looks like, update the breaker directory, register the 20-year workmanship warranty, and leave you the device documentation.
06Pricing transparency
Every quote is free. The range depends too much on your home to fake it.
This is one of the few things we do where the scope really is small and predictable, so most of the price variation is not in the device — it is in what your panel makes us do to get it in. A modern panel with an open pair of spaces and a readily available breaker is a straightforward job. A full panel with nothing free, an obsolete brand where a listed breaker is hard to source, or grounding that has to be corrected first are all genuinely different jobs. We would rather find that out at the panel than promise you a number over the phone and revise it on the doorstep. And if the panel turns out to be at end of life, we will say so and quote the service upgrade instead, because a surge device on a failing panel is money in the wrong place.
What it costs
Quotes are free. The variance on this work is too wide for an honest range — book a free inspection and we’ll give you a real number for your specific home, in writing.
What moves the number
Whether your panel has a usable pair of spaces for a dedicated breaker, or whether something has to be reorganised to make room · Panel brand and breaker availability — breakers always match the panel's listing, and some legacy brands are hard to source · Condition of the existing grounding and bonding, since the device depends entirely on that path to do anything at all · Panel location and access — an interior garage wall versus an exterior enclosure behind a fence on a hillside lot · Whether a detached structure, ADU, or shop subpanel also gets its own device · Permit fees where the jurisdiction requires a permit for work inside existing service equipment, which differ between the County and the four incorporated cities · Coastal exposure, where an exterior enclosure and its terminations may need attention before anything new goes inNo hidden fees. Every quote is free and detailed.
What customers say · panels
162 reviews on Google
Read all reviews Carrie
“Thank you to the Sunrise Electrical Contracting team for updating the new main electrical system on my mom's home after the storm damaged the power lines and home equipment this winter… They replaced Main Service Upgrade Overhead, and added a Sub-Panel Install/Replacement Outdoors… the team of Branden, Jimmy, Ian, and Tylor worked long hours during the storm for a few days to get us up and running again before the next storm arrived.”
Carrie
Storm-damage main service upgrade
Kit B.
“I can't begin to describe how much Branden and Sunrise helped us out of a pinch. We had a serious electrical issue in our panel, and his team were on it. Worked quickly with the city and with PG&E to address the issue, and came in thousands of dollars under competitors' quotes. Hands-down, the best electrical company in Santa Cruz County!”
Kit B.
Emergency panel repair
09Frequently asked questions
7 questions. Real answers.
Pulled from what we actually hear on quotes and on-site. If yours isn't here, ask us — we'll answer in plain English.
Isn't a power strip enough?
They do different jobs. A point-of-use protector at the outlet handles what is left after the big transient has already been knocked down, and it only covers what is plugged into it. A Type 2 device at the panel takes the hit at the service and covers every circuit in the house — including the things you cannot plug into a strip, like a heat pump, a well pump, an EV charger, or a furnace control board. The two layers work together; neither replaces the other.
Will this protect against a lightning strike?
Not a direct strike. That is a different category of event and a different kind of system. What a Type 2 device handles is the far more common case: transients arriving on the service from utility switching, a line reclosing after a fault, restoration after an outage, and the spikes your own large motors create when they cycle.
How do I know if it's still working?
The device has a status indicator on it. Surge protective devices are consumable — they absorb energy across their life and eventually stop protecting, usually with no other symptom. We show you the indicator at the walkthrough and leave you the manufacturer's documentation, which is where the guidance for your specific device lives. Glancing at the indicator whenever you are already at the panel costs you nothing.
Do I need one if I'm already getting a new panel?
Then it belongs to that job rather than this one. The 2025 California Electrical Code (230.67) requires surge protection where service equipment is replaced, so a panel job carries it as required scope and it should appear in that quote. This page is written for homes keeping the panel they already have — where a surge protective device is a retrofit you choose, not something the code obliges.
Will it protect my detached shop or ADU?
Only if that structure is fed from the same panel with no subpanel of its own. A separate structure running off its own subpanel is better served by its own device at that panel. We will look at both while we are there and tell you which situation you have.
My panel is a Federal Pacific. Can you add one?
We would rather you did not spend the money there. Those panels are a known safety issue and are almost always past their useful life on age alone, so the honest recommendation is replacement rather than putting a new device into a panel that is on its way out. Federal Pacific panel replacement has the full story.
How long is the warranty?
20-year workmanship warranty on our installation, transferable to the next owner — see warranty terms. The device itself carries the manufacturer's own coverage, and we hand you their paperwork rather than restate it.
10Even if Sunrise isn't the answer
Here’s the honest path — wherever it leads.
We'd rather you get the right outcome than the Sunrise outcome. Some of this points away from us on purpose.
Outside Santa Cruz County?
Look for a CSLB-licensed C-10 contractor near you and verify the licence at cslb.ca.gov. On a job this small the questions that matter are specific: does the device go on a dedicated breaker, do they keep the leads short, and do they check grounding before installing. Those three answers tell you most of what you need to know.
Browse our field guidesWant to read up first?
Surge protection only makes sense in the context of the panel it is going into, and the panel is usually the more important question. Our panel guides are free to read, no email wall.
Read the panel guidesNot sure your panel is worth protecting?
A free whole-home inspection gives you a written read on the panel's condition and whether a surge device is the right next thing to spend on. You keep the report either way.
Schedule a free inspection12Service areas
We do this work everywhere in Santa Cruz County.
From Davenport to Pajaro Dunes, San Lorenzo Valley to Pleasure Point. Same crew, same warranty, same pricing.
13One more thing
Book a whole-home surge protector install
One device at the panel, everything downstream covered, and a 20-year guarantee on the work. If your panel turns out to need something else first, we'll tell you before anything goes in.