Standby Generator Review

The safety of your home and your family may depend on the availability of emergency power during an outage. Concerns about severe weather, freak accidents or intentional disruptions caused by malcontents, have many homeowners purchasing and installing their own standby generators. A standby generator may literally be a lifesaver in such a situation. Lighting a few candles and huddling in the warmest room of the house may be fine for a few hours. But, what about an extended outage?

A properly utilized standby generator will keep the contents of your refrigerator and freezer from defrosting and extend the life of your food supply. If you have a well pump, it will continue to operate and provide you with water for drinking, and personal hygiene needs. You and your family will be able to stay warm or cool enough to keep from suffering hyper or hypothermia.

The cost of your standby generator is largely dependent on the size of the generator you need. If you want to power your entire house you will spend more than if you acquire a system that will only power necessary basic heating, lighting and refrigeration.

The most popular standby generators operate on natural gas, propane or diesel fuel. Not nearly as popular are gasoline models and alternative fuel models. Natural gas and propane units have the advantage of not having to add an additional power source to many homes. Diesel fuel can be difficult to store and degrades over time.

Certain dangers exist when using a standby generator. Most standby generators are designed to be installed outdoors minimizing carbon monoxide risks. Any motorized machine used inside must be properly vented to minimize suffocation and fire hazards. Any electrical power-producing machine should not be used on damp or wet surfaces to limit the possibility of electric shock.

Improperly connected standby generators can cause back-feed of power that endangers linemen and anyone who comes in contact with the voltage. Many municipalities have laws regulating the installation of standby generators. A transfer switch must be used any time you connect a standby generator to your household power grid.