However, if you think your home will need power for more than just a few hours, a standby generator is best for you. They also carry enough of a charge to energize your home for a while, if needed. You can easily take them with you to power an RV on a quick weekend getaway, or bring onto your boat for a day of fun. Which is better for a backup power source: a portable generator or standby generator?Īs the name implies, portables generators are great because you can take them anywhere. The average cost of a standby generator is roughly $3,000. Commercially, hospitals have standby generators on deck to ensure their machinery will function in the event of an emergency.

They are also great for prolonged blackouts, where you need a backup source of energy for more than just a few hours. Standby generators are best used for emergency backup when you need your home at peak performance. Standby GeneratorĪlso known as a whole-house standby generator, a standby generator can operate off of liquid propane or natural gas and will automatically transfer electric command during power loss. The average cost of an inverter generator is roughly $300. It wouldn’t be the best option for powering the appliances in your home. Inverter generators are best used for quick charge needs, like juicing up a car battery or giving your laptop power. This type of generator is usually very small, and could easily fit inside your car for convenient, portable charges. You can also use a rectifier to convert your AC power into DC power. Inverter GeneratorĪn inverter generator uses an engine and an alternator to create AC power. The average cost of a portable generator is roughly $2,000. To add a manual transfer switch, you’ll likely need to bring in a professional. For prolonged power outages, you’ll need a more powerful generator to keep up.Įven though portable generators are quite powerful, hard-wired appliances like AC units cannot be powered by a portable generator without a manual transfer switch. They can be used to run large appliances like televisions and refrigerators but only as a temporary fix. Portable generators can put off quite a bit of power. This type of generator is most often powered by fuel (either gas or diesel). There are three primary types of generators that will work to power different appliances in your home. In this article, we’ll discuss the various types of generators, how to calculate the size of generator you need for your home, and what’s required to maintain your generator so you can prolong its life expectancy. However, the size of generator you’ll need to purchase will depend on how you use it. Having a generator on standby - in the event of a power outage - is essential for keeping your home up and running. From thunderstorms, flash floods and snowstorms to hurricanes and tornadoes, natural disasters could happen in Connecticut during any season.

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