Standby Generator Review

Blackouts and brownouts have shown that the power grid is not without vulnerability. Hurricane Katrina is a prime example of how difficult life can be in the aftermath of a disaster, especially without a standby generator. Thousands of businesses including hospitals, refrigerated facilities and others have used standby generators for many years, Now, more and more homes are installing them.

A standby generator is a self-contained unit that creates electricity from the turning of an internal combustion engine. The engine of the standby generator can be powered by gasoline, diesel, natural gas or propane. There are a few alternate energy generators like wood-powered but they are not suitable for most people’s needs.

When a standby generator is put into service a transfer switch must be activated to disconnect the home from the power grid and transfer it to the standby generator. This is important because you don’t want two sources of power connected to your home at the same time. If power is being fed into your home by the standby generator without a transfer switch and the utility power were to be restored damage could occur to your home’s electrical wiring and the generator, not to mention the fire and safety hazards.

The transfer switch can be automatic or manual depending on the system you install. Some standby generators require you to manually start the generator and manually trip the transfer switch. This is perfectly fine set-up for many homeowners but does have obvious disadvantages as compared to automatic standby generators. Most standby generators are outside manual units require the homeowner to go out in darkness or inclement weather to start them. Obviously, if you are not at home at the time of the power failure the unit will not provide needed power to your appliances.

The biggest advantage to acquiring a manual standby generator is cost. With fewer parts and less technology involved it is cheaper to build, sell and install a manual standby generator.

Installing a standby generator will generally require you to employ the services of a professional. Although some do-it-yourselfers have the required skills necessary to complete the installation of a standby generator, most will require the assistance of at least a qualified electrician.