Home Generators

It can, and that is the single biggest factor in what the system costs. A central air conditioner draws a large running load and a much larger starting surge, and the generator has to cover the surge.

There are cheaper routes to a cool house during an outage. A soft starter reduces the surge. A single ductless head cooling the rooms you are actually using needs a fraction of the capacity. We would rather work through those than sell you the largest unit in the range.

Essential circuits suits most households better than they expect, and it is the option least often put in front of them.

Whole-home backup earns its cost where there is a medical requirement, a well and sump to keep running, or a property that cannot simply be left. Otherwise, powering the parts of the house you will genuinely occupy during a storm is both cheaper to buy and cheaper to fuel.

Natural gas where the supply exists, because it does not need refilling and does not run out mid-outage. Propane where it does not, with the tank sized for the days you want to cover.

In both cases the question is delivery capacity rather than availability. A meter or regulator that cannot supply the flow the generator wants under full load will cause it to stumble, and that only reveals itself when the power is actually off.

Annually as a minimum, plus the automatic weekly or monthly self-test that the unit runs itself.

This is the part people neglect and it is the reason generators fail to start. An engine that has sat unused for two years is not reliable backup, it is decoration. If nobody is going to look after it, that is worth factoring into the decision before buying rather than after.

On natural gas, effectively as long as the supply holds, with pauses for oil and service intervals on a long outage. On propane, until the tank runs down, which is arithmetic you should do before you need it.

Work out your realistic worst case in days, not hours, and size the fuel accordingly. A generator that covers eighteen hours of a four-day outage has solved the easy part of the problem.

Not with a standby unit. It detects the outage and transfers automatically within seconds, which is much of the point for a property you might be away from during a storm.

A portable with an inlet connection is different: someone has to be there to set it up and start it. That is a real limitation for anyone who evacuates, and it is worth being clear-eyed about before choosing the cheaper option.