Our modern lives depend on electrical power. From everyday necessities such as cooking lighting, refrigeration, heating and cooling, to conveniences such as entertainment systems and computers all require electrical power. Depending on the area in which you live, power outages can occur frequently. Add to that, unpredictable weather and overloaded transmission lines all contribute to unforeseen outages.
There are two ways to protect your home with a standby generator, the first being with a portable generator and the second with a completely automatic standby generator. Which way you protect your home depends on how critical electrical power is to you, the frequency of outages and cost factor.
The least expensive method of providing standby power is with a portable generator.
The generator would connect directly to the homes wiring through a transfer panel. During a power outage, one would need to connect the generator to a power inlet using a cord. One would then go to the transfer switch and transfer the loads to the generator. Because you can select the individual loads connected to the generator at any one time, you would not need as large of a generator.
The disadvantage to this method is that you need to be home to connect and startup the generator. Also one must have fuel available and test the generator monthly to make sure it will start when needed.
An automatic standby generator operates whether you are home or away. Within seconds of an outage, the generator automatically starts, transfers loads and then shuts itself off after utility power returns. This generator operates on natural or LP gas. To make sure that the unit is ready for an outage, the unit will test itself on a periodic basis.
In order to size a generator properly, one needs to know which items in the home are critical. Since it is usually not economically feasible to connect the entire house to the generator, we only connect the critical loads. Based on these critical items, we can calculate the size of generator needed.
If you are interested in a generator, please call our office to speak to one of our consultants. We can discuss your needs and budget and recommend a system that will work for you.
