Power outages are still common experiences that inconvenience people all around the country. Preparing for power outages that storms, natural disasters, and power companies can cause is continuing to prove to be a wise investment for many homeowners. Choosing the best home backup generator will be important, however, to get the most from your emergency power investment.
The benefits of owning a home backup generator extend beyond the convenience of keeping lights and appliances on during blackouts. It’s also known that installing an emergency house generator can improve property value as well as other financial incentives.
Choosing the Best Home Backup Generator
Before you decide to purchase a home backup generator, do your research covering a few important factors first. The information below is a helpful guide for homeowners to choose the best generator for home use.
Understand Your Power Requirements
Home generators are a significant resource for homeowners concerned with power outages. When dealing with a power outage, air conditioning units, refrigeration, and other important appliances will no longer work.
In order to better understand how much power the generator set will need to generate, you should first decide which appliances you want to have power. There are many different emergency house generators for sale and knowing your own power requirements will help with determining the most appropriate option.
Determine Your Preferred Fuel Source
Backup house generators often differ in what fuel source they use to generator their power. Smaller, portable generators will typically run on gas while larger home standby generators will either utilize diesel fuel, liquid propane, or natural gas.
The benefits of owning a diesel generator are fuel efficiency and maintenance. However, fuel storage and fuel costs during emergency situations can become a hassle given the tendency of fuel shortages and rising fuel prices.
Liquid propane generators provide their owners with various benefits, such as fuel price. Similar to their diesel counterparts, though, gaining access to fuel during emergency situations can become difficult depending on the size of your storage tank and accessibility.
Natural gas backup generators are a very popular choice for homeowners because of natural gas lines in residential areas. A natural gas home backup generator will have direct access to its fuel source, eliminating problems with storage. However, natural gas lines will be necessary in the area the generator is installed and these gensets are typically less fuel-efficient than diesel generators.
Basic or Automatic Transfer Switch
The last factor you should take into consideration is what sort of generator transfer switch you want to install on your backup generator. Transfer switches are important for protecting both the generator and the appliances within your home.
Automatic transfer switches give homeowners a seamless transition of power whenever the main power is lost. Basic transfer switches will require a user to manually switch from the primary to the secondary power source.
In order to understand which generator transfer switch is best for your installation, it’s recommended to speak with a generator specialist. Consider contacting an electrician or get in touch with our technicians at MTS Power Products if you’d like further assistance.
