What Kind of Generator Should I Get?
What can’t you live without?
Generators come in a wide range of sizes, with regard to both the physical footprint of the unit and the electrical capacity. A small generator can back up a few essential circuits, while larger generators can back up your entire home, virtually eliminating the disruption to your lifestyle. The question you, as the homeowner, need to answer is: What do you consider essential?
If you’re just hoping to keep your food cold, your pipes warm, and your sump pump running, you can save a lot of money with a select-circuit generator that only backs up a few small appliances.
If you simply cannot live without air conditioning, you may be surprised by the size of generator needed. A central A/C condenser may not use a lot of power when it’s running, but starting the motor can cause a momentary spike in power that can overload smaller generators.
One of our favorite clients, Zoe in Wauwatosa, likes to say, “If we’re going to eat the cow, are we going to leave the tail?” – a rough translation of a Greek phrase, meaning she doesn’t want us to do anything half-way just to save a little money. If you find yourself saying about home projects, “If we’re going to do it, let’s just do it right,” then a whole-home solution might be the right fit for you. That means you can keep cooking dinner, watching TV in conditioned air, and simply relax, knowing your home will function just the way you’re accustomed to.
Of course, bigger generators = bigger price tags, and we can help you determine the perfect balance of investment and benefit with a quick walkthrough of your home.
Automatic versus manual?
Automatic standby generators are the Cadillac of emergency backup, but they may not be right for you. Let’s break down some of the biggest differences.
Automatic standby generators, such as Generac’s Guardian series, are permanently installed next to your home just like an air conditioner, and take up about the same amount of space. These units run on natural gas or propane, so there is no refueling needed, no tanks to swap out, and no risk of gas getting “old” and causing engine problems. When power goes out, a standby generator senses the outage, fires up the engine, and transfers power to the generator automatically without any input from you. When utility power is restored, the generator will automatically shut down and transfer power back to the utility service.
Automatic standby generators are a great fit for homeowners who travel, because the power will be backed up whether you’re home or away. When you partner with a service company for maintenance, you can rest assured that your unit will continue to run reliably, as the unit will be professionally maintained just like any other appliance in your home. Additionally, automatic generators come in a wider variety of sizes than their portable counterparts, enabling you to backup more of your home’s lighting and appliances. Lastly, standby generators self-test weekly during what is known as an “exercise” cycle, keeping the juices flowing and notifying you if something has failed and your unit needs a repair.
The wonderful convenience and flexibility of these units comes with a price, though. A small, select-circuit generator to backup a few lights and essential appliances will start around $8500 installed. Whole-home units with installation can range from $13,000-$20,000 for homes up to 4000 square feet, while larger homes may require liquid-cooled units that can be upwards of $30,000 installed. Additionally, you can expect to pay $300+ annually for service, including oil changes, spark plugs, air filter, oil filter, battery testing and replacement, etc.
Is there a cheaper option?
Did you know that a cost-saving, portable generator can connect to your home’s breaker panel to create backup power even for hard-wired appliances and lighting? Portable generators tend to be much more affordable than automatic standby units, and with a few easy steps on your part, can affordably restore power to your essential circuits. Just wheel or carry out your unit, fire it up, plug it in, flip a couple of switches, and you’re back up and running.
Our team will help you decide which generator to buy, and which circuits you want to back up. From there, we will install an emergency breaker panel with just your essential circuits in it, and a simple transfer switch that enables generator power to run the panel. The power comes from the generator through a cord-and-plug connection on the outside of your house.
The portable generator option is a cost-saving solution, but it’s not for everybody. Generators can be heavy and clunky to move, and there is a series of steps that need to be followed to enable backup power from a portable unit. Additionally, portable generators don’t run themselves automatically, so these units can deteriorate or malfunction, causing a mechanical failure when you most need power. And as we all know, power outages tend to happen on bad weather days, so when you need to use your generator, you may end up taking a long shower just to get the unit in place and fired up.
The combined cost of a portable generator and electrical installation can range from $2000-5000, so you can certainly save some money if you’re willing to put in a little more effort, and you have friends or family that could run your generator when you’re traveling far from home.
Bottom line:
When you’ve decided it’s time to take back control from Mother Nature, give us a call, and the Spark Shark team will help design the right solution for your generator needs, and your budget.
