Stand By Generators

The Power of Stand By Generators Isn't Only in Their Wattage

You are watching college football on a Saturday night while heavy snow falls outside. The lights flicker and for a moment you are aware the electricity is out. Maybe a tree branch fell on a power line. Maybe a car skidded into a power pole. Looking across the street you see the lights in the neighborhood are all out and wonder how long before power will be restored. It could be a long, cold night. But not for you. Seconds later you hear your emergency standby generator hum, and power—including the football game—is restored to your home. The rest of the street sits in darkness.

Weather, natural disasters, auto accidents, even routine power maintenance may cause grid failure. While many grid failures are short and repaired quickly, power failure due to natural disasters and extreme storms have left thousands without power for weeks. Natural disasters are random, unpredictable, and traumatic. Preparing ahead of time for standby power can lessen the trauma of a major catastrophe and make routine grid failure a non-issue. Being prepared for the event of a power outage by having standby power systems gives you peace of mind regardless of whether your power is out for 15 minutes or 15 days.

Stand By Power Generates Peace of Mind

Some situations make it crucial to maintain power via an emergency standby generator. Stand by generators ensure power for air conditioning and heating in order to make homes comfortable for people with medical conditions, children, and the elderly. Having an emergency standby generator can power freezers and refrigerators, avoiding costly food loss and messy cleanup. Standby power systems can also protect your home or business from freezing temperatures and prevent freezing pipes and subsequent water damage. It is especially important to protect your second home, cabin, or rental property, as these dwellings may be left empty and a standby home generator will prevent loss of power even while you are away.

Stand by generators give you power when the grid fails by sensing grid power loss and transferring the power source of your home or business from the grid to an emergency standby generator via an automatic transfer switch. A professional electrician will be able to properly install the stand by generator. The load you wish your standby home generator to power will determine the size of emergency standby generator you need. According to popularmechanics.com, powering circuits for a first floor bathroom, two lighting circuits, the refrigerator, furnace, garage door opener, and well pump are typical circuits to power with a standby home generator. (http://www.popularmechanics.com/outdoors/survival/gear/home-generator-101-how-to-power-on-when-the-power-goes-out?click=main_sr) Larger stand by generators can power an entire house, eliminating the need to choose only a few circuits to power.

Permanent Stand By Generators for Power When You Need It

Some will argue that having a portable emergency generator available to wheel near the house and run power is adequate for emergencies. A portable generator will be able to run small power loads and will be ideal to help make it through a short power outage. And, no one will argue that any generator is better than no generator in an extended emergency. But the peace of mind in knowing your emergency standby generator will switch from grid power to home generator power within seconds of power loss—even when you are away from home—gives a peace of mind. Unfortunately many deaths during the power outages following natural disasters are due to CO2 poisoning due to improper operation of portable gasoline generators. Never operate a portable generators under a porch, in a garage, or any place lacking proper ventilation. Standby power systems should also be operated with care. Stand by generators should be installed outside your home or office in a well-ventilated area to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.

Standby power systems are costly, but the convenience and peace of mind having standby power systems brings is well worth the cost.