Saturday night I decided to run to the store to get more scrapbooking tape so I could finish my Yellowstone scrapbook. I also decided to get some CVS deals that ended Saturday night so I grabbed the flyer and coupons and headed to town. As I pulled onto East State Street the stop lights were out and I knew the power was out. At our house we had electricity so I didn't realize. I just did a u-turn and went home, disappointed I had wasted my time and gasoline.
The next morning I went back into town to get the new week's CVS deals and I still needed tape. And though everyone had electricity again, the cash registers were all a mess and everything had to be done manually.
Power outages wreak havoc on communities. And the average family experiences more than 5 major power outages a year! Boy, it feels more often than that in our area. And it also seems like instead of being 24 hours or so it is days on end. Two years ago in the middle of winter we were out for more than a week and last year we were once out for almost a week. And we actually felt prepared and resourceful. We had plenty of food and water. We had games and books and headlamps with full batteries so we could move around. We have two gas fireplaces so we weren't cold. And we have a gas stove so we could cook. Yet even still, candle light got old VERY quickly. With three kids it just isn't romantic nor appealing at all.
As we head into the seasons of high winds, ice, and snow I find myself being less and less willing to spend days and weeks on end at the mercy of AEP.
And there really is another option. An option that more of our customers are seeking and which we have installed at David White Services. A standby generator system.
We sell General Electric standby generators. This is different from the noisy and bothersome portable generators which require you to run an extension cord and are very limited in what you can power. A permanent standby generator system allows you to function with minimal interruptions to your normal life. Your food won't spoil and your basement won't flood and with some organization you can continue to use your hair dryer in the morning, your oven at dinnertime, and not miss important football games. Yes, I have had a Superbowl interrupted!!! The horror of it all!
Standby generators have gas engines but are quiet. The systems can be connected to your natural gas line or liquid propane tank and generate electricity as long as fuel is supplied, no power company needed. Also, standby generators use an automatic transfer switch. This means that when the power goes out, the automatic transfer switch turns on the generator, whether you're home or not, and automatically shuts it off when the power comes back on.
Unlike portable generators, standby generators operate automatically with no human intervention.
The first step in picking your home standby generator is to determine if you want to power your whole house, essential circuits, or somewhere in between. One of the biggest misconceptions about home standby generators is that they restore or provide power to the entire house.
But "whole house" is really dependent on the size of your house. If you wanted to power a doghouse, a tiny generator would work. If you own a mansion, you'd need a huge generator.
The majority of us have limited budgets. But buying a smaller standby generator which keeps your heating (or cooling) running, your deep freezer frozen, and/or your sump pump pumping and also allows you to run one or two other electrical items at the same time is affordable enough to be in the price bracket of those of us who live somewhere in between a dog house and a mansion.
David White Services can help you plan for being inconvenienced. And, as always, our estimates are free.
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