Using Portable Generators and Standby Generators

When people have to deal with natural disasters like ice storms, high winds, snow storms, tornadoes and hurricanes, what usually follows are people being left without power for extended periods of time. However, a good way to prepare yourself and your family in the event you have to live through one of these disasters is having a portable generator for your home.

In actuality, there are two types of generators you can choose from, portable generators and standby generators. The former generator is an excellent choose for work, on construction sites and for play, like when you go camping. In addition, they can also be a small but effective generator in the event you should lose power in your home and you want to power important items like a freezer or a refrigerator.

Standby generators are a bit different, unlike portable generators, standby generators are often permanently installed and they are programmed to come on immediately after a power outage occurs.

These standby generators vary in how much of a home they can power and also in the price of the generators as well. There are standby generators can power only half of your home or you can get a generator to power your entire home as well. As you might expect, the generators that power your entire home tend to be the most expensive. And while the prices will vary a great deal depending on the type of generator and the brand you choose, a good rule of thumb is that even the most inexpensive standby generators will start, price wise at around $1,000.

Picking the Right Generator

Follow these steps to help you to define your power needs when looking for a generator.

The first step is to consider which items need to be powered during a power outage. Maybe it is a computer, lights, appliances, in some cases it can even be certain electrical medical equipment. In any case, it is best to make a comprehensive list of the things you need to keep running when the power goes out.

Secondly, if you are using it for work, like on a construction site, or if you are out camping, know what equipment you'll need power for. This will help you to know what your non emergency generator needs are.

When compiling this list you need to understand how much wattage it takes to run an appliance. In many cases you will find two numbers. The first number is the starting wattage, the power it takes to get the appliance started and this number is going to be quite high. The second number is the power it takes to run the appliance after it has started. However, a quick look at the owners manual of any appliance will inform you of the minimum amount of wattage it will take to run your appliances.

The last step is to simply add all of this up to get a number of wattage you will need to run these items all at once. It is unlikely that you will need all 5,000 watts, which is the standard size portable generator you might find for a home, but it's always nice to be able to run your TV, refrigerator, lights and other essentials at once if the need arises.