What’s best for you, a look at generators and back-up electrical systems for your home.
Here in Potomac, permanently installed Hgenerators or other back-up systems have become the new must-have for high end suburban life. This may be because during the last few years we have experienced more weather-related power outages than normal, including several memorable ones. Most of us are devoutly wedded to our electric and electronic “necessities” and would rather not do without them. When a storm hits and the power cuts off, our furnaces or air conditioning stop, as do our refrigerators and freezers, TVs, phones and computers, not to mention lighting, washing machines, stoves and microwaves. In this area many homes have their own wells and some require septic pumps, both of which would come under the category of necessities. If your well is shut down, you have no water to drink or wash with. When your septic pump is shut down, I leave it to your imagination what might happen.
Friends purchased an automatic generator system several years ago because their home which is built on a intermittent stream needs a constant sump pump. They were retiring, planning to travel more, and they wanted an automatic system to protect their basement from flooding. We talked on the phone recently. Coincidently she was experiencing a power outage in the middle of the day for no apparent reason. She was happily washing clothes and talking on the phone with almost no interruption. Another friend of mine resolved after the last three day outage that life was “nasty, brutish, and short” enough as it was. He wanted “a system.”
Let’s suppose you have decided that you are going to purchase some sort of electric back-up. So, what are the various options available? And what are a advantages and drawbacks of each? There are basically three: a portable generator, a permanent automatic generator, and a battery back-up system. I have purposely avoided discussing photovoltaic panels powered by the sun.
The small portable generator is a device which you hook up and fuel once there is an outage. If you are handy and the funds available to you are limited, this is the best option. This simple and inexpensive option only works if you are at home and will only cover a limited list of electrical needs depending on the size of the generator you purchase. The fuel is usually gasoline, so you need to keep a fresh supply on hand for this option. The differences between having a portable generator in the garage available for emergencies, and having a permanently installed on-demand electric back-up system are considerable.
Cost: A permanent installation is, of course, much more costly: $7,000 to $20,000 vs. $2,000 $3,000 for a portable unit.
Convenience: There is no comparison between a portable generator and an automatic system. With the former, one usually must deal with fuel and manual hook-ups, while in the latter case, everything is automatic.
In terms of maintenance, all systems, manual or automatic, require at least annual service. The permanently installed automatic generator looks much like your outside a/c compressor on a pad and runs on either natural gas or propane. This option requires a contractor who designs and installs generator systems. Your contractor will ask you to decide what circuits in your electrical panel are necessities. There are dedicated circuits that run your furnace, well, freezer, washing machine, microwave etc., and there are circuits that power the plugs on your walls and lighting. Some of these decisions are no-brainers. Others, like selecting the circuit that powers your cable box and flat screen TV, or your computer may require some thought.
Your contractor will size the generator based on the circuits you say you need in case of an outage. Most folks select the most important circuits, while a few families opt to cover everything electrical at home and pay a higher price for a larger unit. There is also a third option — quite effective for most outages — though not so well known: the battery backup. This system is more electrical than mechanical. It consists of a bank of batteries similar to automobile batteries but made especially for this purpose. When the power goes off, these batteries immediately begin picking up the loads that you have selected. While there may be a hiatus of as much as 30 seconds with an automatic generator, the backup battery system is almost instantaneous. If the difference between immediate and 30 seconds is critical to you, a battery backup may be the system for you.
Here are a couple of notes about the battery option. Depending upon the size of your battery “bank” you may only have a day’s worth of power available to you. You will also need a portable generator to charge up your battery bank. The average outage, however, is less than a day. The battery backup will cost more initially than an automatic generator system. However, there are no fuel costs associated with running it. If the issue of noise is important to you, the battery back-up system is silent. Some people have opted for the ultimate system that combines the battery bank and automatic generator. The generator in this system only runs when the batteries need a charge. When I talk to people who have purchased backup electric systems, they universally seem very happy with the money they have spent, the products they have received, and the sense of being now armed against power outages. One friend was surprised during a three day outage at how much natural gas he used, but he chalked it up to the cost of being prepared and the cost of his and his wife’s comfort.
Thanks to Fred Banner of the Banner Power Company and Michael & Sons Electric Service for help in preparing this article. We welcome your questions and feedback to mike@hopkinsandporter.com.
