It is true that a whole house generator can help power almost everything in the house in times of emergency, but what if your home is located in a part of the country where power outage does not happen very often? Is it still worth investing in a large home generator? The answer is definitely yes! As people become more concerned about their energy usage, they are also becoming more interested in power generators. The good news is that there are many types of portable power generators available for use in homes as well as businesses.
One of the most popular models is the whole house generator. These are normally portable and designed to be stored in places where there is enough space and they can run by themselves. For instance, if you own a small rural home with no central air conditioning unit, a portable, single-stage standby would be able to power your whole house. On the other hand, if you live in a suburban house with several A/C units and a large, liquid-cooled gas generator, you would need around a 48-volt liquid-cooled standby.
One of the biggest concerns people have about the cost of the generator itself is whether they will have to do any installation work. This is not always the case. Many manufacturers will offer a bundle with the purchase of a generator so that installation costs will be included. In fact, some manufacturers will include installation in all of their whole house generators.
Most of the time, the electricity for your whole house generator will come from natural gas. If you want to run the generator on wood or charcoal, then you will need to buy a wood-burning stove. Natural gas is less expensive than propane, which is the fuel most people use for camping or outdoor activities. If you are interested in having your whole house generator run off wood only, then you may want to talk with your local Home Depot representative. They can help you locate good, affordable, and fuel-efficient wood.
Speaking of fuel, the two main fuels that propane and natural gas burn are gasoline and diesel. You will need to transfer switches between the two in order to use one at a time or transfer both at the same time. Transfer switches will keep both types of fuels completely separate, so you will never get an electric shock when using either one. Just make sure that whichever fuel you choose does not get left behind when you transfer the switch. This is an important safety feature for your whole house generator, as any mistake with the transfer switch could result in an explosion in your home.
Along with the transfer switches, you will need a few more pieces of equipment in order to successfully run your whole house generator and avoid a power outage. The first piece of equipment that you will want to install is a surge protector strip. A surge protector strip will protect your electric circuits from surges in power, and will ensure that nothing will cause a breaker or short circuit in your home. Some surge protectors are solid, which will keep the power surge away from your home as well, but they will also shut off automatically if a surge occurs. This is one of the best and easiest ways to prevent a major power outage.
Another great feature to look into for your whole house generator is an automatic shutdown feature. There are some systems that will shut down your system on their own after a certain amount of time if a power outage does occur. These systems will alert your manual voltage and circuit breaker and will also automatically disconnect your hot water heater and cooling system. This is a great feature, especially if you live in an area where power outages are common.
Finally, one of the main factors that go into the cost of a whole house generator is the complexity of the setup and wiring that go along with it. The more elaborate the generator, the more complex the wiring needs to be, and the more it will cost. Complexification is not always a bad thing, as it can make certain types of equipment more efficient and provide you with a better overall electrical output. If your needs are simple enough to set up yourself, and you can afford the installation costs, then this may be a good choice for you.