They work, and work well.
But there are some choices.

Your electrician if a normal liscensed elecrical contractor should offer what he considers worthwhile. There are some surge arrestors that are better/worse than others. Different people will have different options much like on ford/chevy. But there are some oddballs too like yugo's.

Might want to start a discussion on the Elecrical forum here .. link below. Get some ideas maybe.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/wiring/