I have a Siemens panel that is in an older house. It is in a finished wall. I saw a thread from a few years back on this subject but it didn't answer my question. I don't want to have to cut the wall out. Is there a solution for this problem? Is there some videos online to show how to mount in a finished wall? Any how to sites? Everything I am finding people are putting them throughout the side or bottom.

 

At my sister's house I was able to mount the CHSP Ultra inside the panel. The Square D Homeline panel had a huge wire space below the bus bars and I had plenty of room for the mounting. Add in a plexiglass-covered window to observe the indicator lights and it made a slick installation. Probably not kosher but...

 

Different protectors have different mounting styles. You want the leads as short as possible so the protector is normally mounted through a knockout.

 

I have not seen many flush mount surge protectors, but they are available. Try starting your search here with one from Intermatic.

https://www.platt.com/platt-electric...px?zpid=746297

 

Yup, there are flush mount options available:

Leviton 51120-1 Panel Mount Whole Home Surge Protector and Supressor - Smarthome

or

Leviton 51110-1 120/240 Volt Panel Protector 4-Mode Protection, Light Commercial/Residential Grade, in NEMA 4X Enclosure, White - Amazon.com

(I have a model similar to the second link... that was the price-point I was looking for in a whole house protector)

 

If you don't want to open the wall at all, there are models to fit your panel that just plug onto the busbars like a circuit breaker. If your panel is full, Siemens makes their's to replace two single pole breakers and provide two narrow single pole breakers all in one unit.

Siemens 20 Amp 6.5 in. Whole House Surge Protected Circuit Breaker-QSA2020SPDP at The Home Depot