Millions of people use standby generators in their homes as a source of emergency power. Every household should have one. There are good deals available everywhere, if you just take a little time and care.
It’s not until you lose power that you realise how paralysed you become. The investment will last you for years, as long as you just do basic simple maintenance on your home generator, There is a lot of choice and availability out there.
Starting up an appliance in a power cut uses lots more power than when the appliance is up and running.
Electrical items need a surge of power just to get them going.
Much like humans really! With this in mind, do not start all your appliances at the same time. Turn them on separately.
This will reduce the wattage that you need in a backup generator.
It’s important to round up not down when you are calculating the size that you need. For example if your caculations work out at 1700w go for an 1800. This means you can add other appliances and will allow for things you did not think of like when your daughter wants to operate hair dryers during the power loss! These things happen more than you think.
Ask your local electric supplier for advice if you think you need it. He or she will just ask a couple of simple questions and then advise. This advice is normally free of charge. Always write down the appliance you will most likely want to use during a mains power outage. How many watts do these essentials use in running mode? If you do not feel confident doing this, then simply ask the supplier or manufacturer that you are thinking of buying from.
They will all usually have this information readily available, they can offer some expert advice. You do need to know what you want to run on the portable generator. Remember cost of replacing all food in your freezer in your budgeting. So many people make this mistake.
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