Should You Purchase a Standby Power Generator?
If you’re afraid of long power outages and refrigerators full of spoiled food, you may be considering buying a home generator. Despite the rapid sales growth of portable and standby power generators, should a major storm hit most households in America will be with their lights out. The question is, should you buy a home generator or not? I’ll try to help you decide!
A standby power generator can surely add value to your house and safeguard you and your family members by keeping power running in case of emergency. However, this protection can be quite costly. Think about it as any insurance policy; you never know when or even whether you’ll ever need it. So, to make sure it’s worth the investment, you have to take into account several factors: your budget, your personal situation and whether you can tolerate interruptions.
People living in areas with prolonged, frequent outages, someone who works at home and/or need to stay connected, as well as patients relying on electrically powered medical equipment should undoubtedly consider purchasing standby power generators. In these cases, backup generators will protect them from a disruption they might not be able to afford.
Furthermore, people living in areas where hurricanes often strike, use generators to safeguard their family members against the risks of extreme heat. In case you have a second home in an area where temperatures often dip below freezing point, a standby power generator can protect your property when you aren’t around. In fact, these generators are especially popular among weekenders because frozen pipes could flood your second home and that is, obviously, more expensive to repair.
In general, contrary to a portable backup generator, standby power generators are permanently installed on a concrete pad or gravel bed next to the house. Once (or if) the power goes out, this unit turns on and keeps essential systems and appliances running, no matter where you are. Nevertheless, this always-on protection comes with a price tag; they start at approximately $2,000 and go as high as $20,000. The benefits are obvious, but it’s up to you to decide whether such an investment is worth it in your own case.