Why Buy A Generator?

Imagine a storm hits your area and knocks down trees and power lines. You are left without power for days. You have to endure uncomfortable temperatures. How would you keep your house heated or cooled without power? Do you have enough non-perishable food stored in case of emergency? Most do not. What about lights? Internet and Television? Can you protect your basement from flooding without power to run a pump or get fresh water?

Perhaps you live in an area where rolling blackouts threaten to disrupt your daily activities. If there was a national emergency are you prepared? Can you manage your home office, medical issues and your own security without power? A backup power generator can change all that. Nowadays, many homeowners just like you are talking matters into their own hands and installing a backup power generator in their garage, shed or just outside their home. In the event of a power disruption the generator will restore power so life can go on when the power goes out!

Why Would I Need a Generator?

These days, due to extreme weather, construction, and other unforeseen complications, extended power outages can mean real problems for daily living. You hear of power problems not only in the third world but now right here at home. This website is full just some of the power issues affecting us in North America. We are starting to use more power then what is available and when we need it the most such as in a storm or during a heat wave, it goes out!

Often when the power goes out it means days of waiting for it to be restored. No heat, no Internet, days. Days that food in your refrigerator is going bad. When you have a backup generator you can have power restored within seconds so your life can go on uninterrupted.

Today’s standby power generators are fully automatic, self-contained, and built to be permanently installed outside the living area, just like an air conditioning unit. You would almost never know it was there, until you needed it.

How Does A Generator Work?

You might be thinking that a power generator is a complicated piece of equipment, but there’s really not much to understanding how they work.

Four important components of a generator are:

The motor, which burns fuel—usually propane, natural gas, gasoline, or diesel—to supply power.

The generator head, which turns that power into electricity.

Most residential generators require a transfer switch, which acts as the interface between utility power and generator power. The switch recognizes an absence of utility power, and switches your electrical circuits to the generator as their source of power. The process is simply reversed as soon as utility power is restored.

The size of a generator is measured in kilowatts (the wattage it produces). Sizes range from 1 kW for the smallest, gasoline-powered, portable generators, to 500 kW for large, industrial generators. The typical range for a residential generator is 6 kW to 45kW. The most popular is a protable unit about 6000 Watts because of the cost and that it is enough power for most homes emergency needs.

Types of Generators

There are two main types of generators that can be your backup power source at home.

Standby Generators are installed permanently as an emergency power source. They are hardwired into your home’s electrical system and can be fueled by city gas or propane lines. Installed outside of your home, they resemble an air conditioning unit, and can easily be hidden amongst your landscaping. These are wise investments for areas that may experience frequent power outages however much more expensive and your limited in selection. See our Buyers Guide for more information on this.

Portable Generators are gas or diesel-powered devices and provide temporary electrical power. They can also be useful in places like construction sites or campsites, to plug in tools, appliances, and lights.

Portable Generators are much less expensive and can be moved with you. There is no special permits required in most cases and storage in your garage or shed. While they are much less expensive, they are designed to only be used for shorter periods of time. Not 24/7 however in a pinch, a portable generator could be used at your home during a power outage for days, but they can only power a limited wattage and for a limited amount of time.

Today many of these portable generators are a very cost effective choice over more expensive solutions and are easily to service or replace.

How Much Power Do I Need?

So how do you know what size generator you will need? Wattage is the amount of power that is required to operate an electrical appliance or device, expressed in watts or kilowatts. We have a look at our wattage guide.

Start up Requirements vs. Running Power.

Many appliances with a motor or compressor, such as your refrigerator or air conditioner, require as much as three times more electricity to start up than they do to continue running. Your generator will need to be able to accommodate this start up surge of power.

Determining Wattage Requirements.

To gauge what size generator you will need, you’ll need to decide which devices in your home you’ll want to power during an outage, and what their start up requirements are. You can also purchase a simple watt meter and check for yourself.

What Size Generator to Buy.

Once you have figured out the start up requirements for your desired appliances and equipment, you’ll have an idea of what size generator to look at. It’s a good idea to add about 20% to your number as to avoid overloading your generator and give you room to add a few small appliances, because you might decide that you just have to blow dry your hair during the next power outage.

Don’t Get Left in the Dark.

The right size generator should provide just enough wattage to operate your essential equipment. Too few watts and you can overwork the generator, damaging anything plugged into it.

Which Fuel Choice is Best?

Now that you have decided on a type/size of generator for your home, you might be wondering about the different fuel choices. There are several factors involved, including shelf life, cost, storage location, availability in your area, etc.

Propane and Natural Gas. The primary advantage of these is that no fuel storage is required. The generator is simply connected to your utility lines and draws fuel when it needs to. They are also both clean burning. You can purchase a quality gas generator and easily convert it to use Natural Gas or Propane conversion kits and it is very simple. The added benefit is you have a choice of using 3 different fuel source.

Diesel Generators.

Diesel fuel is common for bigger, commercial generators BUT…. You see it used on many heavy machines and in every transport truck. Diesel is actually cleaner then gasoline and the engines are built stronger so they last some 4 times longer. Many prefer diesel since there are no spark plugs to replace, no ignition and other electrical systems to fail.

Gasoline is a common choice for portable generators. It is cheapest and available almost anywhere. However, gasoline has a short shelf life and is highly flammable. Do you really want to store a few days of gasoline in your home?

If you already have a propane tank for your heater or stove, a portable generator can be hooked right up to that, and propane is cleaner burning.

Generator Installation

For larger diesel powered units that require fixed installations, getting a professional to install it is necessary.

Portable generators are simple and you can do the same as you would with a fixed installation or simply run an extension cord to your electrical panel for example.
Consider getting a transfer switch to make hookup and use easier.

Professional Installation.

If you will want to make your installation a permanent one and have it wired into your home ’s electrical system, correct installation is essential. To connect a standby generator to your electrical system, a separate device called an transfer switch will also need to be installed. The transfer switch is what “switches” your power from the power grid to the generator and back. A professional electrician must install the transfer switch.

How Much Will My Power Generator Cost?

As a loose rule of thumb, standby generators cost $300 to $500 per kW, installed. Portable generators are much less expensive, ranging in the hundreds-of-dollars to the low thousands.

Tips & Frequently Asked Questions

Don’t Max It Out. The rated capacity of a generator is the level of power it can deliver on an ongoing basis. It is usually about 90% of its maximum power. An electric generator can deliver its maximum capacity for no more than 30 minutes before starting to overheat. So keep this in mind when you are tallying up your wattage requirements.

Expect Regular Exercise. Standby power generators will automatically perform regular monthly or weekly test exercises to make sure they are up to par when they are actually needed. Many models have a quiet function for the exercise “sessions.”

What Should I Include?

Keep in mind that each device you add increases the wattage needed, which increases the cost of the generator, so limit your choices to those appliances that are truly necessary during an outage. Some of the most common are refrigerators, security systems, sump pumps, lights, electric gates or garage doors, well pumps, septic systems, and medical equipment.

I’m Ready to Shop…Where Do I Find a Generator?

We have a list of trusted dealers on our website that we have reviewed and you can read all about them. We suggest buying from a company that just deals in generators as the big box stores can not do repairs, are not educated in the products they sell and for the most part they only sell what is cheaper and makes them the most profit NOT what is best for you.

Read our Generator Buyers Guide