The code stopped treating this as optional

What NEC 230.67 says

The 2023 National Electrical Code, which Clark County and the City of North Las Vegas have both adopted, requires a surge protective device on services supplying dwelling units. It has to be part of the service equipment or immediately next to it. And the part most homeowners have never been told: where service equipment is replaced, all of the requirements of the section apply.

In practice a panel upgrade, a meter can replacement or a service swap done under permit carries a surge protective device with it. Not as an upsell. As the thing the inspector is looking for.

What it protects, and what it does not

• It clamps what arrives on the service

  Utility switching events and the tail of a nearby strike, which is what actually kills electronics in this valley far more often than a direct hit does.

• It does not replace protection at the equipment

  A service device and a good strip at the desk do different jobs. Anyone telling you the panel device makes the others pointless is overselling it.

• It does not make you lightning proof

  Nothing does. A direct strike is a different event, and we would rather say so than let you believe otherwise.

If you already have solar

An inverter, a gateway and a battery are among the most surge sensitive things a house owns, and they sit on the service. If your system predates the current code, or the company that installed it is gone, the service device is worth checking. It is a small part of a Solar Rescue inspection.