Texas Generators

It can get very hot in Texas. Sometimes it can feel like the hottest summer you’ve ever endured. You regularly wake up caked in sweat. You can barely handle direct sunlight. Your only solace is the AC, which you run full-blast 24-hours a day. And then, out of some cruel twist of fate, even your AC stops working. In fact, your entire home shuts down — as does your neighborhood. From Houston, San Antonio to Dallas and Fort Worth. Possibly even the whole state. You’re experiencing a blackout.Major blackouts have been inconveniencing North Americans since the ‘50s, and they’re not likely to stop any time soon. Our power grids are set up in such a way that they are perpetually vulnerable to blackouts. To understand why, let’s take a look at how power grids work.

A power grid, at its simplest, is a connection between a power source and a power outlet. Maybe, for instance, it’s connecting a hydroelectric dam and your home (as well as several million others). Every time you use an electric appliance — such as your computer — it sucks a little bit of power from the dam. This is a reasonable design, but it does have a flaw: if that hydroelectric dam needs to be shut down for maintenance, then your home will be left without electricity.

To compensate for that, additional power sources are added to the grid. Thus a single grid may be powered by twelve hydroelectric dams, two nuclear power plants, and several hundred wind turbines. Like that, entire regions (often spanning multiple states) are connected into a single network.

On the one hand, this setup is remarkably resilient. With so many power sources backing each other up, power shortages rarely occur. On the other hand, though, connecting all of these power sources makes them vulnerable to a system wide failure. These system wide failures are what we know and fear as blackouts.

Usually blackouts happen in times of great demand (such as a hot summer). There is a reason for this; blackouts are the result of an over-stressed system. When a power source cannot meet the demands of its power outlets, it runs a risk of burning out. To avoid that scenario, it simply shuts down, instead.

Sometimes, the problem stops there. Other power sources pick up the slack and the plant that went offline eventually is reintegrated into the grid. Other times, though, the remaining power sources cannot handle the added demand. To avoid burning out, they shut down too – placing even greater demand on the few sources still running. In turn, those can’t handle the stress, shut down, and like a row of dominoes, they all stop working.

It can take over a day to get all of the power sources functioning again. This is a major inconvenience, not only to those who have to live without electricity – but also to those who must repair the malfunction. Worse yet, no individual can make the difference between a healthy power grid and one that’s blacked out.

This doesn’t mean, however, that you can’t help. There are two things you can and should do: first, conserve energy-use during periods of high demand. Even if you want to have your AC on full-blast 24-hours a day, maybe you should use this time to reduce usage of other appliances – such as your television, computer, or dryer. Secondly, teach your friends, family, and co-workers how blackouts work. The more people who use electricity responsibly, the less likely a blackout becomes. It’s not a perfect defense, but it’s the best one we have. The other option is to get yourself a backup power generator so when it does happen next time life will go on.

Here is a list of generator dealers who service Texas including Austin, Houston, El Paso, Dallas, Corpus Christi and more.

Diesel Generators
Gas Generators
Propane Generators
Silent Diesel Generator
Home Standby Generators