Standby Generator Can Save You
It’s the force behind your heater, your lights, your TV and computer. It’s your power supply, and if you take it for granted, you might be left in the dark.
When the lights go out, food also starts to spoil and heat and cold shut off — often in extreme temperatures, creating a health concern for children and the elderly. And what’s worse, sump pumps in basements and crawl spaces won’t operate when they are most needed to discharge storm water, which can lead to thousands of dollars of damage.
Being without power for few hours is a nuisance. Not having power for days, weeks or even longer can be both costly and dangerous.
The good news is that an automatic standby generator can return your home to full power within seconds. It works even when you’re not home. In contrast to a portable generator, an automatic standby generator senses an outage and begins to produce power immediately. There are no extension cords to plug in, gas tanks to fill or switches to flip.
Even better news is that although automatic standby generators were reserved almost exclusively for hospitals, television and radio stations or the very wealthy, advances in technology have made automatic standby generators more affordable and available to mainstream America.
Automatic standby generators rank high on “Cost vs. Value Report,” which measures the popularity and return on investment for home improvement projects. Depending on the number of essential circuits required, homes can be protected for about $4,000 plus installation with an 10-kilowatt unit.
How it works
Unlike a portable generator, which can be dangerous and difficult to operate, an automatic standby generator operates on more reliable and fuel efficient diesel fuel. The generator monitors incoming voltage from the utility line and when power is interrupted, it senses a problem and transfers to standby power.
Within seconds, the generator supplies electricity to the essential circuits you’ve chosen. When utility voltage returns, the electrical load is transferred back to the utility line.
Sound pretty simple? It is. There are no levers to pull to activate power, no pull cords to yank to start a generator motor and no potentially harmful carbon monoxide fumes due to the fact that the unit is permanently installed outdoors in a safe and secure location. In fact, most automatic standby generators look like the compressor for a central air conditioning system. With a little creative landscaping, you’ll never know it’s there.
Finding a fit
If you think an automatic standby generator might be for you, the first step is to determine what systems in your home you need or want to have powered during an outage. Although you can back-up your entire home, it is typically more cost efficient to back-up essential circuits, which can include some lighting (kitchen, bathroom, basement), a sump pump, a refrigerator and/or freezer, a television, a computer, a microwave, a garage circuit (to operate an automatic door opener) and a security system.
You may also opt to include a home office, an electric water heater (or the electrical supply for ignition for a tankless or hybrid water heater), and a well or irrigation pump.
The next step is to determine the amount of power (in watts) that each of the desired systems requires. Wattage may be listed on the product — if it’s listed in amps, multiply by 120. An electrical circuit is about 1650 Watts, a refrigerator 725, a furnace, 750, a water heater 4500-5500. To calculate lights, add the wattage of bulbs.
Then add those numbers to establish the total amount of power needed, which, in turn, will determine the size of the generator needed in kilowatts (kW) — each kilowatt is 1,000 watts. Most residential automatic standby generators range in size from 8kW to 16kW $4,000 to $15,000 plus installation.
Leading brands have an exercise mode or better yet, have a built in charger to keep the starting battery topped up so it is always ready to use when you need it. Beyond regular “exercising,” the oil level should be checked regularly and other maintenance performed as suggested by the manufacturer.
Call and speak in person to a professional and find out what is right for you.
Comments (0) 
Many parts moving inside the engine create vibrations. Internally a balancing shaft offsets most imbalances. Any remaining oscillating forces that would normally be transmitted to the foundation are dampened using Anti Vibration Engine Mounts. For the engine mounts to do their job they must have a solid foundation to work against. Without this, the engine cannot work properly and will damage itself from the vibrations. Portable generators installed on a vehicle or boat will often break down faster. Portable generators need to be used on the ground or mounted on a firm surface. Personal residential use is what most warranties cover and that means it most often sitting in your garage for example and used from time to time, NOT eight hours a day to power your truck A/C or your boat for example.
