As the number of people who heavily rely on electricity continues to increase there is also a huge increase in the number of homeowners looking at purchasing a standby generator.
With standby generators designed to power an entire house, or just restore the critical electrical components such as stove, refrigerator and heating there are several options you can explore to have the best solution for your home.
If your budget is very tight then you are likely to only be able to afford a select circuit backup generator.
If however, money is no object or you are prepared to spend close to $15,000 then you can very well power your entire house during a power outage.
Of course looking around for the best deal possible is another way to get a better unit for less money as well.
If you are looking to power the entire house, you are looking at needing a large unit.
Make sure you have room outside of your home for the unit and ensure that you have a transfer switch installed.
The transfer switch will automatically turn the generator on in the event of power loss, and turn it off when the power is restored to your home.
As long as you have a flowing supply of propane or natural gas, you will continue to have power to your home, no matter how long the power is out for.
Purchase the largest generator you can possibly afford.
The typical normal sized house, not mansion is capable of running along merrily on a 25,000-watt system.
If however, you use power intensive appliances continuously or if you have a very large home, large family or just want to ensure you are producing more than enough power you can upgrade to units that are around 45,000 watts, which can more than handle the needs of most families.
A final consideration can be deciding what type of enclosure is best for your standby generator.
It is recommended that people who live by the oceans stick to aluminum enclosures because they simply do not rust while steel enclosures do tend to rust quickly under certain conditions.
However, those who live inland away from oceans are able to use steel enclosures happily as long as they ensure that proper maintenance is performed and all scratches on the unit are sealed to prevent rust.
Best decision is if you can afford it; use the aluminum because there is less maintenance and no worries about rust.