How To Choose A Generator For Home Use

A power outage is a nuisance at best. It affects everything you need to work and accept fun at dwelling, such as your lights, TV, and computer. At worst, a blackout can pose an actual danger to life and limb. Information technology can knock out your heating arrangement in the freezing common cold of winter, kill your air conditioner during a summer heat wave, or interfere with lifesaving medical equipment.

If you lot can't afford to lose power for even a few hours — or if you merely don't want to deal with the hassle of frequent blackouts — a backup ability generator can exist the ideal solution. Information technology provides emergency power for your home and so you tin go on all your vital systems online.

How to Choose a Backup Ability Generator

Just deciding to buy an emergency backup generator is simply the first step. The tricky part is finding the correct one for your needs. Offset, you have to determine which type of generator to buy. You likewise demand to consider important details like what fuel source to apply, what size yous demand, and which features are essential to you.

Portable Generators vs. Standby Generators

The get-go decision to make is whether you need a small portable generator or a larger domicile standby generator.

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Portable power generators, which are commonly mounted on wheels, accept to be pushed outside and hooked upward to your domicile's electrical organisation when a blackout starts. Standby generators are permanently installed exterior your dwelling and start automatically when the ability to your dwelling house goes out.

Each type has its advantages and disadvantages. Portable generators are smaller and cheaper, and they don't crave professional installation. Even so, standby generators are a lot easier to use, making them a better choice for dealing with frequent ability outages.

To cull the correct type for y'all, ask yourself a few questions:

How Practice Y'all Want to Apply It ? A portable generator is just that — portable. You lot tin apply it to power your home in an emergency, but you tin also take it with you for camping trips or tailgate parties. That gives it more than flexibility than a stationary generator, which is permanently attached to your business firm.
How Much Power Do You Demand ? Standby generators creepo out a lot more power than portable ones. They can produce anywhere from 5,000 to 20,000 watts — enough to power every system in your dwelling. By dissimilarity, portable generators can typically put out only between 3,000 and viii,000 watts. That's enough to run a few critical systems, such equally a fridge and some lights plus a window Air conditioning unit or the fan for a gas furnace. Withal, they tin can't continue your whole house running along as usual.
What's Your Budget ? Portable generators are the cheaper pick. According to the generator buying guide from Consumer Reports, well-nigh models price between $400 and $1,000. Yous can install this type of generator yourself or pay a few hundred dollars to an electrician to put in a transfer switch, which makes it safer and easier to use. Consumer Reports puts a standby generator's price at $3,000 to $6,000, plus the toll of professional person installation. All told, y'all could cease upwardly paying anywhere from a few thousand dollars to over $x,000.
How Much Exercise Yous Value Convenience ? A standby generator is pretty much plug-and-play. Once y'all get it hooked up, it comes on automatically whenever the power goes out. Portable generators take a lot more work. Y'all have to buy and shop fuel for them ahead of time and run them regularly every month to make sure they're working properly. Then, when a power outage hits, yous have to booty out the generator, take it outside to hook it up, and go it running. If the ability outage goes on long enough, yous'll take to run back out to add more than fuel, potentially mid-storm. Finally, you lot have to take more precautions with a portable generator. If misused, it could start a fire or ship harmful fumes into your business firm.
Where Will You Store It ? If you choose a portable generator, you need to detect a suitable place to shop it. It has to be indoors to prevent it from getting damaged or stolen, but it besides has to be easy to booty outdoors when you need it. You also need to have a suitable place to set it up during use: outdoors on level ground, protected from rain, simply not too close to the firm. With a standby generator, wherever yous gear up it upwardly is where it volition live year-round. That saves you trouble, but it also takes a sizable chunk of infinite out of your yard — non simply during storms, only all the fourth dimension.
Practice You lot Need Ability While You're Away ? Ane advantage of a standby generator is that it will come on automatically, even if you're not home when the power goes out. That means that if a storm hits your dwelling house while you lot're abroad on vacation, you don't have to worry about coming dwelling house to a flooded basement because the pipes flare-up or the sump pump stopped working.

Choose a Fuel Source

Once you've decided on a type of emergency generator, you need to decide what kind of fuel you lot want information technology to use. At that place are three possibilities:

Gasoline

The nearly popular fuel for a portable generator is gasoline. The nearly significant advantage of this fuel is that it's easy to buy at any gas station. However, information technology'southward not ever available during emergencies. If a power outage strikes your whole expanse, not just your house, gas stations won't exist able to apply electricity to pump their gas.

That means if you have a gasoline-powered generator, you need to go along an adequate supply of fuel on hand. However, that'south not always like shooting fish in a barrel to do. Storing big amounts of gasoline is a fire hazard, and many local fire departments put a limit on the amount you're immune to store on your property. According to Family Handyman, the limit in most places is 25 gallons.

Also, co-ordinate to the Chainsaw Journal, gasoline goes bad over time. Gas with ethanol — which is most of the gas sold these days — typically lasts simply one month. Adding a fuel stabilizer can expand its lifetime to a year, but that still means replacing your entire supply every 12 months.

Gasoline can also be bad-mannered to use since you have to make full the generator from a tin can with a funnel, and it gives off evil-smelling fumes. Equally for the price, it varies widely from place to identify, so the price of running a gas generator depends on how much gasoline costs in your area.

Propane

Yous can buy both portable and standby generators that run on propane, which they sell in tanks at large-box stores like Home Depot and Walmart and sometimes grocery and convenience stores. Propane isn't always as piece of cake to buy as gasoline since, in many places, you can't just run down to the nearest gas station for it. On the plus side, it's safer to store and lasts most forever.

Propane too burns cleaner than gasoline. Not merely is at that place no unpleasant smell, simply information technology also produces less CO2 for the same corporeality of rut based on data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (Eia).

According to the Eia, propane currently costs about $2 per gallon, which is cheaper than the average price per gallon for gasoline. However, every bit this chart from the Alternative Fuels Data Center shows, a gallon of propane only produces about 73% equally much energy every bit a gallon of gas, so propane tin can be more than costly to use. Propane-burning portable generators tend to be a little fleck pricier than gasoline-burning ones, merely they also final longer and cost less to maintain.

One large downside of propane is that the tank tin't always maintain enough pressure to keep the fuel flowing in very cold temperatures. To avert this problem, homeowners in cold climates must brand sure to refill their propane tanks when they're at to the lowest degree i-quarter full, according to Ehrhart Energy.

Natural Gas

If you lot choose a standby generator and your home already uses natural gas for heating, you tin only hook the generator upward to your gas lines. Natural gas tends to be cheaper than propane, but its most pregnant reward is convenience. There's no need to buy and store fuel or refuel the generator when information technology runs out. You lot have a steady supply flowing right through the pipes.

Still, natural gas isn't an option for portable generators, and it's not applied if you don't have natural gas service at home.

Go the Right Size

When it comes to generators, size matters. A generator that'due south besides small won't meet your family unit's power needs, just one that'southward too large will cost more to purchase and maintain.

Generators come in iii bones sizes:

Small. The smallest portable generators put out upwardly to 4,000 watts of ability. These mini-generators supply plenty power to keep a few essential appliances going, such as a refrigerator, sump pump, and a few lights. They usually have a built-in inverter. Many are even modest enough to have with you on a camping trip.
Midsize. A midsize portable generator or small standby generator can produce between 5,000 and 8,500 watts of electricity. It tin can ability everything a modest portable generator can, forth with extras similar a computer, a portable heater, and a window air conditioner or fan for a gas furnace. At the upper end of this range, you could possibly power an electric water heater as well.
Large. Large generators, which just include standby generators, produce 10,000 watts or more than. That'southward plenty to ability an electric range or even a central air-workout system, along with everything else. The largest stationary models put out over xv,000 watts — plenty to run an entire electric heating system.

To figure out what generator size you need, look at all the appliances you desire to run during a ability outage. Check the transmission for each one to figure out how many watts of power it uses while running. If you don't take the manual, Homelite has a chart that can provide a rough estimate of how much power various gadgets utilize.

Add up the wattages for all your devices, and you'll know how much chapters your generator would need to proceed everything running at once.

Merely you don't necessarily demand to run all your devices at once. Some appliances, such as a refrigerator, need power 24/7, just you can switch others in and out as needed. For case, a microwave oven uses near 1,000 watts, only y'all just need to utilize it for a few minutes at a time. If you unplug your window air conditioner when you need to use the microwave, and then plug it back in when yous're done cooking, you can become by with a smaller generator.

One other factor to consider is each appliance's tiptop wattage. That's the corporeality of power a device uses when running at its highest level — typically when y'all kickoff start it up.

For instance, as the nautical chart shows, a small sump pump takes about 800 watts to run but uses 1,300 watts at startup. That means that to avoid overloading your generator, you accept to make certain it has ane,300 watts of spare chapters when you plow on the sump pump. Y'all can probably manage that by turning a few other appliances off temporarily, just it's something you'll need to keep an middle on.

Useful Features

Finally, call up most what features you lot want most in a generator. Useful options include:

Electric Commencement. Near portable generators apply a pull cord to get them started. Even so, some come up with a button-button battery starter, which is easier to employ. The battery isn't always included with the generator, and so it could add an extra $fifty or so to the toll.
Gauges. A fuel gauge shows you lot at a glance how much fuel a portable generator has left in the tank. It comes in handy during prolonged power outages when you're likely to need to top it off several times. Another useful gauge is an 60 minutes meter, which keeps track of how many hours the unit has run. That tells you lot when it's time for an oil change or other routine maintenance.
Low Oil Shutoff. This feature protects the generator from damage by shutting it off if the oil level gets too low. It's standard on most stationary generators, but many portable models too include it.
Automatic CO Shutoff. Newer generators often come up with built-in carbon monoxide (CO) sensors. If CO builds up to unsafe levels, it trips a switch that shuts off the generator. Co-ordinate to Consumer Reports, generators from Generac, True cat, and DeWalt all offering this feature. Other generator brands, such as Ryobi and Echo, offer depression-CO engines to reduce the take a chance of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Multiple Outlets. If your generator isn't hooked upwardly to your household electrical panel with a transfer switch, you lot demand 1 with multiple outlets then yous can plug in several devices at in one case. Most portable generators have at least ii electrical outlets, and some take iv or more.
Dual-Fuel Use. Near portable generators run on gasoline only or propane only. However, the most versatile models, known equally dual-fuel generators, can run on either one. This feature adds about $100 to the price of a generator, according to Portable Generator Grader. There are even tri-fuel generators that tin run on gasoline, propane, or natural gas, only these are very rare.
Inverter Applied science. Most portable generators are subject to occasional power surges. These pose no problem for virtually appliances, but they can harm sensitive electronic gadgets. Generators with built-in inverters get around this problem by converting the generator's alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) and and then dorsum to AC, smoothing over any surges. Co-ordinate to Honda, inverter generators are typically smaller, lighter, more fuel-efficient, and much quieter than other portable generators. Withal, they're likewise pricey and limited in output. A typical inverter generator costs around $one,000 and produces only 2,000 watts of power.

Shopping for a Backup Power Generator

The best time to buy a generator is before you demand it. If you wait until a big storm is approaching to blitz out to the nearest dwelling eye, its shelves are likely to be empty. Fifty-fifty if yous manage to take home a generator, you'll exist forced to settle for whatsoever model the store has in stock.

Planning your purchase gives yous time to do some research, choose the generator that's right for you, and store effectually for the best deal.

One time you know what kind of generator you're looking for, consult product review sites, such equally Consumer Reports, Pop Mechanics, and Wirecutter. These sites tin can tell you how different models perform in terms of power production, fuel apply, reliability, noise, and user-friendliness. You tin use this information to choose a generator that meets your needs and so expect for local dealers that carry that particular model.

1 other factor to retrieve nearly before you buy is what you'll practice if the generator needs repairs. If you buy a stationary generator, you can simply phone call the contractor who installed information technology for you lot. All the same, when a portable generator breaks, you lot usually take to booty it into one of the manufacturer's approved service centers to get it repaired under warranty.

And so, before you settle on a brand, information technology'south worth checking to see where the nearest service center is and how piece of cake it would be to have the generator there if yous needed to.

Installing Your Portable or Standby Generator

The terminal stride in buying a generator is to become information technology installed. If you lot buy a standby generator, you must discover a qualified contractor to practice the installation for you lot. If you lot buy a portable generator, you lot tin just find a suitable spot to prepare it upwardly when the power goes out and program to connect your appliances with extension cords.

Still, experts say that if you take a portable generator of at least 5,000 watts that yous expect to utilize oftentimes, it's worth hiring an electrician to install a transfer switch. A transfer switch is a device that lets you safely hook up your generator to your excursion console with a single cable.

When yous want to run the generator, all you have to do is plug in the cablevision and flip a few switches to direct power to the panel from the generator rather than the filigree. It'southward both easier and safer than messing with multiple extension cords.

A transfer switch only works with generators of five,000 watts or more than. Information technology keeps the generator cut off from the electrical filigree, preventing ability surges that could damage the generator, fry your appliances, and endanger utility workers. It'south also the only way to utilise your generator to ability anything that's hardwired into your home, such as a well pump or furnace. According to Consumer Reports, it costs between $500 and $900 to have ane installed.

A cheaper alternative to a transfer switch is an interlock kit, which costs $100 to $200 less and is quicker to install. This device goes on the front of the circuit panel and ensures that power can only menstruum from the generator to the firm and not the other way around. That means that if the power comes dorsum on, information technology can't dorsum-feed into the generator, possibly dissentious it. It also prevents the generator from feeding power into the grid, potentially electrocuting workers trying to repair the power lines.

How to Use a Generator

Simply owning a generator isn't enough to protect you in an emergency. Y'all likewise need to know how to apply it. You don't desire to be out in the rain when a storm hits, fumbling in the dark with gas cans and power cords trying to figure out how to become the matter started.

To avoid this problem, you have to accept the time, before a tempest hits, to learn all about your generator — how to set up it up, run information technology safely, and maintain it.

How to Outset Your Generator

If you accept a standby generator, information technology volition come on automatically whenever the ability goes out.

Only with a portable generator, getting it started is a lot more complicated. Your generator's transmission should explain precisely how to do information technology, but Electric Generators Direct offers a quick rundown of the procedure. Essentially, you just:

Wheel the generator into its outdoor position.
Check the oil and fuel levels. If information technology's a gas-powered generator, fill up the fuel tank with fresh gasoline. Also, peak off the oil if the level is low.
Brand sure in that location are no cords continued to the generator.
Plow on the fuel valve, and so the choke, then the ignition switch — in that order.
Start the generator. If information technology has an electric showtime, simply push button the push button. Otherwise, pull the cord until y'all experience resistance, and so let information technology become. It may accept more than one pull to go information technology started.
Let it run for a few minutes, then set the asphyxiate back to the open up (or "run") position.
Connect the generator. If you're using individual extension cords, only plug them into the outlets on the generator. If you lot have a transfer switch, connect the generator ability cord to the power inlet box in your firm.

Safety Considerations

A properly installed standby generator requires no further condom precautions.

Past contrast, portable generators pose three major condom hazards: carbon monoxide poisoning, electrical shock, and burn down. To avert these dangers, always follow the instructions in the manual to the letter of the alphabet. Here are a few full general rubber tips to keep in mind:

Never Run the Generator Indoors. To prevent CO poisoning, always run the generator in an open, outdoor space. Fifty-fifty a partially enclosed space, such equally a garage with the door open, can trap enough carbon monoxide to be deadly. Keep the generator at least 20 feet away from the house and well abroad from any doors, windows, or vents that could admit fumes.
Use a CO Detector. If your generator doesn't have an automatic carbon monoxide detector, install battery-operated CO detectors on every level of your house to farther reduce the take a chance of CO poisoning. Test the batteries oftentimes to make sure they're working. If the CO alarm goes off, quickly get outdoors or next to an open up door or window.
Go along the Generator Dry. A generator could electrocute you if you run it in wet atmospheric condition. If y'all accept to apply information technology in the rain, proceed it covered with an open, canopy-like structure, such as a tarp gear up on poles. You can also purchase a specially designed ventilated generator tent at a dwelling house centre.
Use the Proper Power Cords. If yous don't take a transfer switch, make certain you're plugging your appliances into the generator properly. Either plug them in directly or employ heavy-duty extension cords designed for outdoor employ. Ensure the cord is in practiced status, with no cuts or tears, and has a three-prong plug. Also, cheque the extension cord's amp or watt rating, and ensure information technology'due south at least as high every bit the full wattage of all the appliances yous're hooking up to it.
Never Dorsum-Feed. Plugging a generator directly into one of your home's wall outlets is called "back-feeding," and it's extremely dangerous. It bypasses the circuit board in your house, meaning you lot could fry your electronic devices or, worse, start an electrical fire. Back-feeding likewise puts utility workers and neighbors who utilise the aforementioned ability transformer at risk of electrocution.
Avoid Overloading the Generator. Even if your generator is hooked up properly, information technology's possible to overload it, causing the generator to overheat or suspension down. To avoid this trouble, continue an heart on how many appliances you lot're running simultaneously, and don't exceed the total corporeality of power the generator tin produce. About transfer switches assist with this by displaying current usage, according to Consumer Reports.
Cool It Downwardly Before Refueling. Never attempt to refuel a generator while it's running. If y'all spill gasoline on a hot engine, information technology could start a fire. Turn the generator off and give it fourth dimension to cool down before adding gas. That also reduces your risk of called-for yourself on the hot engine.
Store Fuel Safely. Always use the blazon of fuel recommended for your generator. Keep extra fuel in an approved safety tin, and store it in a cool, well-ventilated area. Stash your extra fuel in a locked area, but don't keep information technology in your abode'south living areas or anywhere near a fuel-burning appliance, such as a natural gas water heater in the garage. Cheque with your local fire department to find out how much fuel y'all're allowed to shop on your property and where you lot're allowed to put information technology.

Maintenance

If you desire your generator to be ready to become when the power filigree goes downwards, you need to maintain it properly. The manual should provide details almost taking care of your generator, but in that location are some bones guidelines everyone should follow.

Have Enough Fuel. Co-ordinate to the Consumer Reports ownership guide, it takes 12 to twenty gallons of gasoline to run a generator for a total 24 hours. Since propane supplies 0.73 times as much free energy per gallon equally gasoline, that'south equivalent to about 16 to 28 gallons of propane. Nevertheless, you probably don't need to continue your generator running 24/7. Turning it on once every few hours could exist plenty to power your essential appliances, such as the refrigerator and freezer. According to the U.South. Food and Drug Assistants, nutrient volition typically stay cold for near four hours in an unopened refrigerator and effectually ii days in a full, unopened freezer. You lot can store propane indefinitely, but gasoline needs to be fresh or the generator might not run properly. Experts recommend adding a fuel stabilizer, which keeps gasoline in cans good for upward to a yr. Doing so also ways you don't need to bleed the generator'due south tank when you're washed using information technology.
Bank check the Oil. To avert damaging your generator, make sure it has plenty oil before you first information technology. However, exist conscientious not to overfill it. Add just enough oil to hit the total marking on its dipstick.
Change the Oil. The first time y'all apply your generator, modify the oil after running information technology for five hours. After that, it should be able to go about 100 hours between oil changes. Bank check your owner's manual to find out what type of oil to use.
Check the Filters. Each time you run the generator, check the filters. If they're visibly muddied, replace newspaper filters. Or clean foam ones in soapy water. Allow them dry, and oil them with cream filter oil as directed in the manual. If your generator has a filter loving cup in the opening of the fuel tank, clean information technology by tapping out any debris and wiping information technology with a clean rag. Finally, some generators have a fuel filter installed in the fuel line. Bank check the manual to discover out when and how to alter this filter.
Check the Spark Plug. Typically, a generator spark plug needs to be replaced after a sure number of hours of use, which should be listed in the manual. If yous don't have an hour gauge, keep track of how many hours your generator has run to ensure you lot know when it's fourth dimension to change it.
Run It Dry out. If you lot're expecting your generator to sit idle for at least ii weeks, empty the fuel lines earlier you put it away. To exercise this, turn off the fuel valve while the engine is running and permit it run down. That clears fuel out of the lines and the carburetor to keep them clean, and it besides prevents leaks.
Run It Regularly. In one case per month, start up your generator and let it run for about 20 minutes. It burns off moisture, lubricates the engine, and recharges the battery. Also, consider doing a test run every few months past hooking the generator upwardly to the transfer switch and making sure information technology can ability everything you demand it to.
Store It Properly. Don't leave your generator outdoors between uses. Instead, store it in a shed or garage, where it's protected from the weather.

Final Discussion

Your neighbors are likely to experience a piffling jealous when yours is the only business firm on the cake with power. To stay on good terms with them, exist considerate about how you use your generator. Try to put information technology in a location where the noise won't be as well bothersome, and if you lot can, avoid running it late at nighttime.

Too, be a good neighbor past offering to share some of the power your generator produces. Even if you can't spare plenty ability to permit them physically plug into the generator, yous tin invite them into your house to charge upwards their cellphones or offering to store some nutrient in your fridge for them. That style, you lot tin be the most popular family on the block during a power outage instead of "those jerks with the noisy generator."

Finally, remember that having a generator isn't the only way to prepare for a natural disaster. Have the time to acquire more than about other tips that can help you, such as stocking upwardly on food and learning start aid.