You find yourself again without power during a storm. You swore during the last storm you would not let this happen again. When you went to look at electric generators you found yourself overwhelmed with options. Options you just didn't understand and options the clerk at your local home improvement store just couldn't really answer. It's a big purchase so you decided to do some more research. Now here you are, full circle, and ready to purchase before the next outage. Well there are different styles. Portable and standby are the two types a homeowner might look to for back up. A portable unit might suit your needs, but also allow the family to use it while camping. Portable units are often found at work sites. A standby is a fantastic option, but is pricier. This type of unit would be permanently wired in and would be hooked to a switch. The switch allows you to shut power off to the power lines and onto your unit. You would want to select one that carries the load of what you would want to run during an emergency. You might want the refrigerator, well pump, and furnace running for instance, so you need to choose a unit that can handle that heavy a load. Next is the type of fuel the electric generators will run off. There are a few options, natural gas, gasoline, and diesel. There are pros and cons to each type of fuel. One way to make the choice is to consider which one you might have the easiest time accessing. For instance, you may have a lot of access to gasoline. It is going to be in your cars in the yard, your lawn mower probably runs on it, and you can always swing out and grab some at the store if your path isn't blocked. However, it goes bad quickly when stored, so last year's lawn mower gas may not help you with this winter's storm. Natural gas is highly available and these machines typically run quieter. Diesel's benefit is that it can tap into home heating oil tanks. However, it is known to run loudly and smell badly. In the end, however, your choice will likely come down to budget. For instance a standby system is going to be costly. It would probably meet most families' needs more efficiently, but the cost to set up the transfer switch and purchase the unit can be prohibitive. A portable unit will do fine for most homeowners. When shopping for your new unit, consider the bare essentials for your family. Be sure to do your research on how to use electric generators safely. Be prepared. Learn more about Long Island electric generators at: http://www.mrsparky-nassau.com.
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