How to Choose an Emergency Home Generator
- 1). Understand the differences between a portable generator and a permanent standby generator. Portable generators are designed to be moved when needed from location to location and will provide power to a limited number of electrical circuits in your home. Permanent standby generators are designed to be a temporary alternative source for your home's entire electrical requirement. There are huge cost, size, storage and usage differences between these two types of power sources.
- 2). Determine which electrical devices you want to be able to operate in the event of an emergency. List these devices on paper in the order of their importance to you. For example, water heater, refrigerator, garage door opener then bedroom lights, etc. Think carefully, and keep changing the list until you are sure you have prioritized your desired electrical consumption requirements.
- 3). Look at each device (refer to the owner's manual if necessary) and determine the electrical load (watts) that it requires to function. For example your refrigerator may require 1200 watts to operate, and the garage door opener with its overhead light may require 300 watts to operate. Write down the wattage required for each device on your prioritized device list.
- 4). Consider all the devices that you have selected and prioritized. If some devices are included in the same circuit within your home's electrical panel, then group those devices together. For example, the refrigerator (1200 watts), kitchen ceiling lights (300 watts) and microwave oven (400 watts) would be called the "kitchen" group and would be rated at 1900 watts.
- 5). Rewrite your prioritized usage list and include all groups, as well as their combined power requirements. Be sure to include last-minute devices, such as well water pumps or medical devices that may be required later but that are not currently being used. Calculate the total wattage required by summing the wattage requirements for all groups and devices.
- 6). Compare your list of prioritized electrical consumption total wattage with the wattage output of several emergency generators available in your area. If your required wattage is too high for a portable generator, you may need to consider a permanent standby generator. The more wattage required from either type of generator, the higher the cost.
- 7). Consider the other operational aspects of running a generator as a source of electricity. What is the cost? How long can the generator run continuously? How much gasoline (or natural gas) does it consume? How loud is it to operate? How much space does it occupy when not in use? May it be used in wet or rainy weather?
- 8). Choose the generator that meets all your electrical consumption and other operational requirements. Price will usually be a significant factor as well; many units will meet your requirements but may be prohibitively expensive to purchase. Balance the costs vs. the benefits of each system, and decide accordingly.
