Dedicated lines/surge protectors?

I have a whole house surge protector installed by the electric company at the meter for $5 monthly fee. Makes for pretty good insurance too, since they'll cover up to $10k should anything be zapped by lightning.

-IMO

What you need are a couple of Balanced Power Conditioners. Search Balanced Power Technologies

Up here in Boston's pretty stiff, well-behaved grid we generally don't bother.

Subaru,
Glad to hear! Out here on the edge of the Rockies in Montana, we get some pretty fantastic lighting storms. It's not uncommon to lose power for an hour or so 5-6 times a summer. And since Bob Gagnon sold out Montana Power and Touch America to walk away with millions, a lot of the "juice" goes to other states.
Any way, I will talk to the power company about installing a surge protector at the new 100 amp sub-panel on the garage.
Joe
joeb

In addition to a Joslyn gas-tube-discharge primary arrestor providing whole house transient protection, I include an MOV (metal oxide varistor = model GEV130LA20B) wired in parallel across every AC outlet that I want to protect. I understand that AC outlets are now even available with MOV protectors built into them. This type of cascaded approach provides better protection than relying on any single device to dissipate all of the excess incoming energy that comprises a lightning hit, or even a large incoming voltage surge via upline grid switchgear. This cascading protection scheme is further augmented by the MOV's that are contained in my line conditioners (I use two conditioners - one for low current source components & one for high current amps). Just as dressing yourself in layers of clothing for better protection before exposure to cold temperatures, layers of transient protection provides better performance than having to rely on any single one method.