Electricity is an essential part of our daily lives since most of the activities that we do in everyday life involves the use of electricity. The use of electricity is so much a part of our lives that we easily take it for granted. We use electricity to cook our meals, wash our clothes, and to keep us safe and comfortable inside our homes. We also use electricity to entertain ourselves, communicate with other people and to give us artificial lighting during times when the sun is no longer up. Electricity is also essential outside the home since we need electricity for producing food, manufacturing of different products and for running the different machineries that stabilize our society.
Indeed we have become so dependent on electricity that losing it will cause the society to cease functioning. Without electricity, food inside refrigerators will spoil, communication to people will be lessened and the home, community or society will be plunged into darkness. Without electricity, businesses will lose the ability to produce their goods, homes with electric stoves and kitchen appliances will lose the ability to cook meals to feed their family.
Power outages cause fluctuations and temporary power failures in the supply of electricity to different homes and commercial buildings. Severe power outages may eventually lead to the loss of power and electricity for periods of time long enough to cause more harm than good.
Power outages and temporary power failure may be caused by a number of reasons. Natural calamities such as earthquakes, flooding and volcanic eruptions can destroy electrical lines and even power plants that supply power to different residential and commercial establishments. A power plant may also malfunction thereby reducing electricity production, which in turn can cause temporary power failures to selected grids being supplied by it. Whatever be the reason for power outages, the lack of electricity or power supply may lead to undesirable consequences. Because of this, temporary power supply has become very important.
Who should buy temporary power?
Most commercial establishments know how much electricity means to their businesses. Their production is dependent on electricity, therefore they will lose a lot of income if their power supply is cut off. This is the reason why most commercial establishments such as factories have already invested in installing generators that would act as their temporary power supply if a power outage is experienced.
Hospitals and other service establishments such as assisted-living care facilities must invest in having their own temporary power supply. Lives are at stake and electricity is a vital ingredient in making these establishments run efficiently.
For the common homeowner, they might say that they do not need to invest in a generator or a temporary power supply since they normally do not experience power outages. Even if they do experience power outages, they can live with it if it is just for a few hours. They even add that they would only invest in one as and when the need arises. This is poor judgment because if they are going to wait for a major power shortage to happen, then the best generators in the market would have been sold out. They may not get one when they need it the most.
To summarize this, buying a standby temporary power supply or generator is a worthwhile investment to protect your family and your home against any undesirable events that may happen in the future.
How to choose the right temporary power for your home
Now that you know the importance of investing in a generator for your home, the next thing to worry about is the kind of generator that will be best for your needs. Since investing in a temporary power supply is not cheap, it is important to consider many important factors before purchasing the same.
When choosing the right generator, you must answer these three questions:
(1) What is the right size or capacity of the temporary power supply that will suit your needs?
(2) What type of generator or temporary power supply do you want to have?
(3) Does the generator have the quality and the dependability that would make it last a long time?
(4) Can you afford the investment?
Choosing the right capacity
One major factor in choosing the right temporary power supply for your home is the capacity of the generator to produce electrical power. Electrical power is defined as the rate at which work is being done. Electrical power is measured by units know as the watt and is symbolized by the letter P. When electricity flows in a circuit, watts are being used. Watts therefore symbolizes the amount of electrical power that is either being generated (output watt) or being consumed (input watt). Temporary power supplies such as a generator is rated in watts. For example, a 5000-watt generator has the capacity of producing 5000 watts at any given time.
In order to determine the right capacity or wattage rating of the generator, it is first important to determine what electrical appliances you need to keep running using temporary power during power failures. The best way to do this is to list all the electrical appliances that you want to run with the temporary power and to sum up all their input wattage together. Electrical appliances have their wattage shown usually near their power cords.
Please note that some appliances such as air-conditioners, electric heaters and refrigerators have higher input wattage than other appliances. This means that they would require a temporary power supply that is capable of producing large amounts of electricity. Below is a short list of some of the common electrical household appliances and the amount of input wattage needed to operate them.
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ELECTRICAL APPLIANCE
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INPUT WATTAGE
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Computer
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100
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Electric Fan
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100
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Radio
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100
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Color Television
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300
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Printer
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300
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Sump Pump
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400
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Clothes washer
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375
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Small freezer
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325
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Coffee Maker
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900
|
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Hot Plate
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1000
|
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Air Conditioner 10,000 BTU
|
2500
|
|
Refrigerator/Freezer
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2500
|
|
Electric Water Heater
|
4500
|
|
Electric Clothes Dryer
|
4800
|
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5 HP Electric motor
|
5000
|
A generator that has a high power rating would usually cost more, therefore it is important for you to prioritize what electrical appliances need to be running in case of an emergency power failure.
Choosing the right type
Now that you have computed the amount of electrical power you need for your home in case an emergency power failure occurs, the next step is to choose the right type of temporary power supply for you. Generators come in only two types, the portable generator and the standby generator.
Portable generators are named so because they can be carried anywhere and are very handy always. These portable generators are handy during power failures and can also be used during family campings as a source of temporary power to fuel basic electrical equipments needed in camping.
Portable generators can become an emergency temporary power supply for your home. It can be operated manually by connecting it to a transfer switch. Portable temporary power supplies can light up the house and run a few electrical appliances during a power failure. However, not all electrical appliances can be kept running because portable generators can commonly generate electricity up to 6000 watts only.
If comfort for your family is your top priority, then you would want to invest in a standby generator that can be powerful enough to keep all your electrical appliances running even during the toughest storms.
Standby power generators are bulky and have to be installed on top of a cement pad or inside a special housing unit. Standby generators are installed and are configured with the main electrical wirings of the home to automatically start when there is a power failure. The advantage of choosing a standby generator is that you won’t have to worry about going out in the middle of the storm just to switch the generator on. The disadvantage of having a standby generator is that they tend to be noisy. This is the reason why a special housing unit is built around it to suppress the noise that it would make while it is running.
Choosing the quality and dependability
Investing in a generator is expensive, especially if you choose the standby type. It is therefore important to protect your one-time investment by choosing the best quality and the most dependable generator in the market today. In order to be sure that you are getting your money’s worth, it is important to take time to do research on the different brands of generators that are available. One way of doing this is to find out the consumer's reaction to a product. Also, check the post-sales services offered by the company selling the temporary power supplies or generators. A good post-sales service means that the company is a professional one.
Is it affordable?
If the only thing that is stopping you from investing in a generator is its cost, then think again. There are a lot of generator selling companies that offer easy payment plans on their generator sets which can easily be afforded by most homeowners. If investing in the comfort of your family is not worthwhile, then what is? So, buy a generator today and live comfortably during any power outage.
