Standby generators turn the lights on when the power goes out. It keeps the fridge running and the cell phones charged. In backup power, the home standby generators are most popular. In areas and situations when outages last for more than a day or two, these standby generators are in high demand. After Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy people have learned to keep well prepared for the power outages that are caused by natural calamities.
The manufacturers are making newer models for homes, shops, and offices that offer better functionality to users. These days you can find any type of generator you like at an affordable cost. The sales are high in the east coast and also in Texas. In northern California, the wildfires caused havoc for several weeks and months. Thousands of people are left without power when a natural disaster takes place. The standby generators help millions keep their home appliances running during a power outage.
The recent Hurricane Florence was a Cat 2 storm and when it made landfall it was a Cat 1. People with standby generators were able to stay at home without grid power. The whole house generators are ideal for families. They are the most expensive type of generator, and when there is an outage you will hardly even notice it as it kicks on automatically. It powers just about everything in your house. Most of these generators can run for at least a week on a 275-gallon propane tank which makes it an ideal choice. If the cost of the generator seems high, you can always get easy financing. If you run these units on natural gas from your kitchen line you can run them indefinitely. This is probably the biggest advantage natural gas units have over other generators.
Comparatively, a portable unit uses almost a gallon of fuel per hour when it runs at its peak capacity. If you own one do store a lot of gallons of gas in case the grid power takes more than a few days to get restored.
Having an uninterrupted supply of electric power is not cheap. A good generator is like a major investment so you have to ensure you are buying the right one. There are many generator buying guides that you can find online to help you make a good choice. Check the generator ratings online and read the reviews. Online you can also find shops that have live chat to help you out. Expect to spend at least $2,500 to $4,500 on your generator.
The inverter generators are very quiet and run in a fuel-efficient manner. Many people are buying the inverters to save on the cost of backup power. The cost of smaller generators is very affordable so you may want to look into it if you have a small house and want to run the basic appliances.
During Storm Florence, a man in Lenoir County, North Carolina lost his life while hooking up a generator. When you buy a unit that has an ATS you will not need to manually turn it on or off. It is extremely dangerous during a storm to get out of the house to hook up a generator. Users need to buy the unit and get it installed by an electrician who will wire it to your electric panel. The ATS will turn it on automatically when it senses the power outage and also turn the unit off when the supply of grid power is restored. The storm took the lives of 34 people while thousands were rescued by first responders
Storms are formed in a specific season and in the Atlantic basin. September is the most active month for storms. In the Northern Atlantic Ocean, the hurricane season occurs from June 1 to November 30 which peaks from late August through September. The storms are at the peak of activity around September 10 every year.
This year many businesses stepped up to help the victims of Hurricane Florence by offering fee waivers. Airlines offered free pet travel and waved baggage fee while Verizon and AT&T offered free-calling, texting, and data to people located in the path of the storm. Many businesses set up storm trackers to help their community cope with the hazards of the situation. Victims of the tropical storm were also able to store their goods with UHaul free of cost.
More than 200 hosts from Airbnb open their homes during devastating hurricanes such as Harvey, Maria, and Irma. This time too they housed Florence evacuees and relief workers for free. Those moving from the coastal areas could camp at the free campground spaces provided by Atlanta Motor Speedway and the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Hundreds of people who had stayed behind had to be plucked by the first responders and were taken to shelters. These shelters use the high-capacity generators as a backup source of power.
If you are looking to buy one of the best home standby generators, take a look at the Champion 100174. It costs only $1,999 online and if you use it with propane it gives an output of 8500 watts. If you run it on natural gas the output is 7,500 watts. It has a 291 hours run time on propane. This is the most affordable whole-house generator on the market. It is enough to run a gas furnace and water heater, a small central air conditioning system, and a refrigerator. It delivers reliable and clean power for much less and is ideal for a small house. If you have a big house the Kohler 14RESAL will make the better choice. It has an output of 14,000 watts on propane and 12,000 watts on natural gas with a runtime of 182 hours. This Kohler model costs $3,909 and can be bought on credit. Kohler is a very trusted name and most hospitals and airports like to use this brand due to its high performance.
These days, standby generators are going through a lot of good changes. The new technological advances used in the construction of the generators make it more user-friendly.
