P
OWER OUTAGES ARE
unavoidable and increas-
ing in both frequency
and duration. Nearly 60
percent of all blackouts
are caused by violent
storms, but 34 percent
are caused by equipment failure in
the nation’s aging and overloaded
electrical grid. So what’s a home-
owner to do?
One option is a standby genera-
tor. Within seconds of a blackout,
a standby generator will kick on to
power your home. But these gen-
erators aren’t cheap. Here’s how to
decide if it’s worth it to have one
for your home.■
A NEED-BASED DECISION
Whether or not you need a standby
generator is strictly personal. For
some, being inconvenienced by a
single blackout is reason enough.
But in an area with frequent or
lengthy blackouts, a standby
generator becomes more neces-
sity than convenience. Once
you’ve decided that you need one,
the next step is selecting the
right size.■
SIZING STANDBY GENERATORS
Generators come in many sizes
and can be powered by either nat-
ural gas or liquid propane (LP).
A common impulse is to get the
largest unit available to power
the entire house. A more sensi-
ble approach is to buy a generator
sized to run essential circuits,
such as those powering the fur-
nace, kitchen, well pump, sump
pump, water heater, security sys-
tem, and a few lights and outlets.
This is considered a “partial-
house generator.”
The complexity of a home’s
electrical system is a critical fac-
tor in selecting a generator. Square
footage doesn’t correlate to a cer-
tain size—it’s more complex than
that. Hire an experienced elec-
trician to calculate your home’s
anticipated electrical loads and
recommend the correct size.■
GENERATOR SIZES
Generators are sized by kilowatts
(kW), which is a unit of power.
One kilowatt equals 1,000 watts.
So, a 22kW generator produces 22
kilowatts—or 22,000 watts. Gen-
erators need to be connected to an
automatic transfer switch (ATS),
which makes the generator kick
on or off. Again, an electrician
will provide guidance, but a typi- GETTYIMAGES36 December 2019
What You
Need to
Know About
Buying a
Standby
Generator
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