Common Sense PlanningToday's standby power generators are fully automatic, self-contained, and built to be permanently installed outside your home. They use an automotive style muffler and sound attenuation to limit sound to as low as 60 db's. Environmentally friendly natural gas or propane are the fuels of choice. The most popular small automatic standby generators range in size from 7 to 20kW.
Several factors should be considered when choosing the site for your generator: access to the fuel source (natural gas or propane), access to the primary electric service entrance or panel for the home, and landscape considerations. Once you know what you want to accomplish with your generator system there are three approaches: Whole House, Essential Circuits, and Majority of Circuits.
Whole House - When the objective if maximum convenience and cost is not an important consideration, the whole house option is the ultimate in standby power generation systems. The advantage is that the homeowner does not experience any difference in the electrical power access when the utility power fails. Disadvantages include size and costs - initial, operation, and maintenance.
Essential Circuits - Most consumers are looking for a more affordable standby power solution that will help them meet their essential needs when the utility power goes out. Those essential needs include heating, cooking refrigeration, selective lighting, security, telephone, well pump, home office, and medical equipment. Typically this option limits the homeowner to 10 to 16 circuits depending on the size generator selected. The advantages of this option are small generator size and lower costs. The disadvantages include lack of flexibility due to having to pre-select the protected circuits.
Majority of Circuits - For many the option offering the greatest flexibility with minimal inconvenience is the majority of circuits option. The successful use of this option depends on the size of the home, electric panel size, and which energy is used (gas or electric) to serve the larger energy consuming appliances. The effective use of this option requires the right technology and Common Sense Conservation.
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