There may be nothing more annoying and inconvenient than a power outage. Lost work time, spoiled food, loss of heat. These things are all consequences that home and business owners face when the electricity unexpectedly goes out.  There is a solution to these problems, and investing in a backup generator is that solution. Although these generator systems aren’t cheap, even if you just purchase a portable generator, they are a great investment. 

8 Benefits of Investing in a Generator 

Whether you’re a business owner or you’re just looking for a generator for your home, there are big benefits to getting a backup power system. You’ll save money, irritation and mental energy in the long run. Consider the following points as you weigh the pros and cons of a new generator.   

1. Prevent food loss from spoiling. Individuals and families can spend hundreds of dollars a month on foods that stay in the refrigerator or freezer until they’re ready to use those ingredients. When the power goes out and stays out, it can mean that you have to throw out food before you’ve had a chance to use it. 
2. Standby generators kick within seconds of a power outage. Your neighbors might be without power when the utility company suffers an issue, but with your standby generator, you’ll just have to wait a few seconds. The generator will start and warm up for a few seconds before it starts to power your home, but that shouldn’t take too long, often between 10 and 20 seconds  
3. When power comes back on, the transition will be smooth. Standby generators help to smooth the transition from generator power back to utility-generated power.  These units typically run for a few minutes after the utility company gets the electricity back up and running, to ensure that the power is indeed stable enough to power your home. Once the motor has cooled a bit and the demand for power has transitioned to the utility lines, the generator shuts off.
4. Even during an extended power disruption, you’ll be able to entertain yourselves and your family.  You’ll be able to watch TV, listen to music, have electricity to read by, and have hot water for bathing and other usage.  Assuming you have a standby generator, you won’t be dragging out a portable generator and looking for extension cords. With a standby generator, you shouldn’t even have to get up from where you are or interrupt your activities. 
5. Commercial property and business owners will not see a disruption in their security system coverage. With a backup generator that kicks on within seconds, you’ll hear a warning beep, but the power should be up and running quickly enough that there’s no real disruption in protection for your business.
6. Generators keep sump pumps working properly. If you have a sump pump  near your basement to keep the water out during particularly rainy and wet times, you won’t have to worry about potential flooding issues from a power loss. A generator keeps the sump pump running with minimal interruption, which could mean minimal damage from wet weather that knocks out the power grid.
7. You can keep connections with others alive. So many people have digital devices that they use to communicate with others as well as entertain themselves. And we’re talking about more than just a phone. Computers are such a big part of everyday life now. Losing power can be very disruptive.
8. You never know when you need backup power.  There are many reasons that the power might go out. Severe weather, trees falling onto power lines, even rodents gnawing on connections – these are all reasons that the power might unexpectedly fail, and no one can predict exactly when something like that might happen, or how long it might last, particularly in the winter months when the weather is unpleasant and cold. 

Whether you’re building a new home or looking to add a generator to your emergency kit, there are tradeoffs, like the cost of the system. For a business owner who has power tools to run at work sites or at their main site, a generator is an investment that can help employees get more done. For homeowners, the investment into a backup power system (whether a permanent standby generator or a portable unit) could pay for itself with a bad winter or unpredictable electrical grids. 

For More Information on Automatic Backup and Portable Generators, Call NSHEC Today!

Contact North Shore Home Energy Today!

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By nshec

Odds are if you’re reading this, you’ve had to deal with a portable generator before. Simply put: it’s a pain. For those reading this who have not yet decided on what generator to buy and would like me to elaborate, allow me to paint this wonderful picture for you: amid a massive blizzard or hurricane, your power goes out. In the chance that you are home when it happens, you do not have an abundance of time to react. You must head to the garage, shed, or wherever you keep your generator, wheel it out to your transfer switch or inlet box (or worse, run extension cords throughout your home), go through the process of turning your breakers off while the generator warms up and activates, then turn the breakers on one by one hoping that you do not overload the system.

Then, when the power eventually is restored to your home, you must perform all of these steps again in reverse order. In times of crisis or emergency, this whole process is the last thing any homeowner/ family member wants to worry about. What if you’re not home when the outage occurs, you may be wondering? Simply put, nothing happens. Your food in your refrigerator will spoil and any other maintenance appliances within your home will shut off. Certainly not a very enjoyable situation to find oneself in during a natural disaster or emergency.

Luckily, companies like Generac have begun to offer automatic backup generators. These generators aim to be the solution to any woes that the average homeowner has with portable generators. We’ve decided to lay out exactly what solutions choosing an automatic backup generator brings to the table.

CO2 Risk

Running portable generators inside is very similar to running an automotive vehicle indoors. Burned fuel is converted to carbon monoxide gasses which can be dangerous, and even fatal to any occupants of the home its running in. As simple as it may seem to just run it outside, that’s when you encounter problems. Will the generator be able to reach your inlet box from an outside location? Will the generator be damaged during the course of any natural disasters passing through?

Having an automatic backup generator properly installed outside of your home eliminates this risk completely. The automatic backup generator will be preinstalled outside, eliminating the hassle of dragging your generator back and forth. You’ll be certain that it is connected to your inlet box already. Generac automatic generators are also contained within a reinforced aluminum enclosure, severely decreasing the risk of damage to the backup unit.

Manual Activation

As was painted in the situation above, if you are using a portable generator you’ll need to go through the laborious process of turning it on when the power goes out and then turning it off when it is finally restored. This can be even more of a problem if you are not currently at your home to manually activate it. If you do not act quickly or return home immediately, you run the risk of losing any personals that depend on constant electric maintenance.

This entire issue is completely resolved with the use of an automatic backup generator. Whether you are in or out of the house, the generator will kick on within seconds of an outage and automatically supply power to your inlet box. When power is restored, the generator turns itself off automatically too, so no energy is wasted. The necessity to monitor the unit is completely eliminated, and the protection it provides for your house is active 24/7. 

Worrying About a Refill

If you own a portable generator, odds are it is running on gasoline. This means that eventually the generator is going to run out of gas and will require a refill in order to function properly again. During an emergency outage, this just adds to an already-extensive list of problems/worries that are present. You may be safe for the time being, but what if that gas supply runs out while you are asleep or working on another task? You are then left in the same position you were in when the power went out preliminarily, and must react and refill quickly.

Automatic Backup Generators run on the home’s natural gas or LP fuel supply, eliminating the need to worry about refilling out of the blue. It is also much less expensive than running on gas! You are then able to dedicate your time accordingly and rest assured knowing the power will stay on indefinitely.

Overloading Dangers

Using a generator, portable or automatic, means you run the risk of an electrical overload. With portable generators, this can mean serious damage to your home or inlet box if the generator is not equipped with overload protection.

Generac automatic generators come pre-equipped with overload protection, meaning in the event of an electrical overload the generator will automatically turn itself off. Then its just a matter of adjustment and resetting the breaker within the generator. This can save your home and fuse box from serious damage that portable generators may cause.

Even the experts at the American Red Cross recommend an automatic backup generator, stating it’s a much safer and more efficient alternative for your home than a portable generator.

For More Information on Automatic Backup and Portable Generators, Call NSHEC Today!

Contact North Shore Home Energy Today!

Check Out Our Current Specials!

Read The Great Things That Your Neighbors Are Saying About NSHEC.

By nshec