Losing electrical power is frustrating at best and outright hazardous at worst. But installing a whole-home backup generator will shift how you respond to outages, making sure you keep everything running when the grid goes down. Explore how these systems work and why this might be a great addition to your home for comfort and peace of mind.
Understanding How a Whole-Home Generator Functions
A whole-home generator is a step up from a portable generator. The unit is fixed in place outside your house and combusts reliable fuels like natural gas or propane for consistent energy that lasts for hours, days or even longer.
Instead of needing to set it up manually and refill the fuel each time you use it, a whole-home generator connects to your home’s electrical system through a transfer switch, which allows it to activate on its own in the event of a power outage. After the utility power is up and running again, the generator shuts down on its own, and the transfer switch reconnects your home to the grid. This quick process ensures you don't have to worry about being left in the dark or missing key services during an outage.
Benefits of Backup Generators
Whole-home generators offer a wide range of benefits. Here are 10 compelling reasons why you should invest in one for your home:
- Readiness for severe weather: Severe weather events can leave you without power for days. But by installing a whole-home generator, your lights and appliances keep running both through and after the storm. This layer of protection ensures you won't have to scramble during a weather-related emergency.
- Convenient home-based power: A whole-home generator enables automatic, ongoing power without the need for manual setup or frequent refueling. Unlike portable generators, which demand your presence for setup and fueling, a whole-home generator turns on within seconds of the power going out and keeps running as long as it's fueled. This hands-free operation ensures your home stays powered without you needing to lift a finger.
- Confidence: The unpredictability of power outages can be stressful. By installing backup power, you will know that your home’s important systems stay functional. You also experience normalcy and safety during an outage, which greatly improves your family's comfort with unexpected power outages.
- Prevent loss of income: If you're a remote worker, a power outage can lead to losing work and missing deadlines. A whole-home generator keeps your office electronics running. As long as your internet connection remains intact, you can carry on with work, meeting deadlines and clients alike.
- Protect refrigerated foods: Food spoilage is a frustrating (and smelly) consequence of power outages. A whole-home generator keeps your fridge and freezer running, saving your food from spoiling. This benefit is especially needed during extended blackouts, allowing you to keep food fresh and avoiding the need to throw everything out and restock when power is restored.
- No frozen pipes: Losing power during winter may shut down your heating. Even natural gas furnaces often use electronic ignitions, making them useless in an outage. As the temperature gets colder and colder, frozen or burst pipes are a significant risk. Whole-home generators keep your heating safe to maintain the indoor temperature and limit any expensive damage caused by bursting pipes.
- Protection for electrical equipment: Power surgers can damage appliances and electronics. A whole-home generator ensures a stable flow of power, protecting your appliances and wiring from the power surges that follow the outage. For additional protection from power surges, consider installing a whole-home surge protector at the same time.
- Power for any medical devices: If anyone in your household depends on healthcare equipment, a power outage may pose a serious threat. A whole-home generator ensures that ventilators, oxygen machines and other critical equipment remain operational through an outage.
- Maintain HVAC functionality: Maintaining a consistent temperature in your home ensures the comfort and good health of your entire household, namely young children, older adults and even our pets. With a whole-home generator, your HVAC system will power through in extreme weather, staying safe from heatstroke or hypothermia.
- Enhanced home value: The certainty of having power during outages is an attractive selling point. As a result, installing a whole-home generator adds home value and can enable a higher asking price.