How To Select a Residential Generator
Ann Triune
If you're especially concerned with protecting your home from an unexpected power outage, having a residential generator will solve your worries. A residential generator supplies electricity during a blackout. This can be used to supply important electric devices found in your home such as lights, computers, refrigerators, air-conditioners, heaters, and etc. It does this through converting mechanical energy into electrical energy.
When buying a residential generator, you can opt for having a portable or stand by (stationary) generator, depending on what suits you best. A variety of fuel can also be used, including natural gas, gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). If you want to buy a cheap model, go for a portable generator that runs on gasoline. However, this type of generator has a low running time, and you might need to constantly refill its gas tank. It is also not reliable as a long-term power backup since gas pumps might not work during blackouts.
In contrast, a stationary generator can provide continuous power. It is directly connected to an external fuel source (ex: external gas line) and because of this, there is no limit to the power it can supply. If you want your portable generator to lengthen its running time, you can also choose to hook it up to an external source.
In addition, portable generators, despite its affordability, come with disadvantages. You need to transport it from the storage, hook it up to the loads, fill it with fuel, and manually operate it just to get it to start functioning. A standby residential generator on the other hand functions with just a push of the button, or even with no manual operation at all, if it has an automatic transfer switch. This is because it is connected to the house wiring and fuel source. The average transfer time of an automated system is about 10-30 seconds. Furthermore, a standby generator provides higher levels of power compared to portables. Although it might be expensive, standby generators guarantee total protection from long-term power outage since it can supply electricity even to the whole house.
In buying a residential generator, make sure that you not only consider price and wattage. Consider safety, fuel availability, convenience of use, and the duration of time you might need emergency power. Also identify whether you want the whole house to be powered or just select mission-critical circuits. If you have the financial resources, buy a generator that can supply electricity to the whole house. If not, get one that supplies just selected circuits.
Just bear in mind that having a residential generator might bring about accidents and health hazards. It can cause fires, electrocution, and a high emission of the poisonous gas, carbon monoxide.
In general, a residential generator should be bought according to your needs. Determine if you plan to use it for short-term/long-term blackouts and if you want it to power the whole house or just select circuits. Of course, you shouldn't forget to calculate the wattage requirements of the electrical devices you need to power at the same time, so you can look for a generator that can provide the sufficient amount of power.
Keep in mind that there is more to buying a residential generator than its price tag. Your home's safety from a power outage depends on a residential generator, so consider it as a very important and wise investment.
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