Do You Really Need an Emergency Standby Generator?

Standby generators are expensive to purchase and install with a starting price at about $5,000 and can go as high as $40,000 depending on the size you want. 

There is no telling when you will actually need a backup generator. Whether it’s worth the investment depends on your personal situation, your tolerance for a little inconvenience and your budget.

If you live in an area with frequent and prolonged power outages and work at home or rely on electrically powered medical equipment, a backup generator can protect you from a disruption you may not be able to afford.

If you live in areas where severe weather is common such as hurricanes or heavy winter weather that leave you without power for several days, a standby generator may be necessary to safeguard your family against the risks of sweltering heat and freezing conditions.

Notwithstanding, the above exceptions where a standby generator is nearly imperative, you must ask yourself if you really need a standby generator or can you get by with just a backup generator or neither one. Roughing through these inconveniences for a few days offers opportunities to use our survivor skills and imagination for entertainment. There really was life before the world of electronic gadgetry and people lived quite comfortably         

If you decide the benefits are worth the cost and you can’t live with the inconvenience of a power outage here are some tips on buying a standby generator:

1.    The first thing to do is to assess your power needs. Generators are sized according to the wattage they produced. The more watts you need the bigger the unit must be and the higher the cost. Wattage requirements vary from house to house. A generator supplier or local electrician can do a wattage assessment of your home.

2.    The next step is deciding what you want your generator to power. At minimum you can run an emergency panel of necessities such as central air conditioning, refrigerator and a handful of lights and outlets.  On the other hand you may want to power the entire house.

3.    And finally, you must decide what type of fuel you want to operate the generator on. Most standby generators can operate on gas (propane or natural), gasoline or diesel fuel. Ideally you should use the same type of fuel that the rest of the house utilities operate on.  

Once you’ve set up the standby generator, you won’t have to be concerned about being stuck in the dark or freezing cold again. It will also add to your home value.