Winter is a great time to enjoy your home indoors—unless a snow, wind or ice storm has left you without electricity. Winter outages can be more than just inconvenient. In addition to being without heat and light, there is always the potential for pipes to freeze. In addition to the difficulty winter power outages can cause for people and pets, they can be extremely life-threatening for people who rely on electricity to power life-sustaining medical equipment.
Here are some suggestions if you are considering a backup power system for your home:
Portable gasoline-fueled generators are the least costly backup power solution. However, it’s not easy or safe to plug a furnace into one in winter. One option is having a portable wiring package with a manual transfer switch installed in your home. This will allow you to plug a main line to the generator to power pre-selected items, including your furnace, safely and easily.
Only purchase the size of backup system that you actually need. You can pay a lot for a larger system that you will never use to its full capacity. This also ensure that your generator will run at peak efficiency.
The next step up from the portable generator is a permanent backup power system fueled by natural gas or propane. These units can be accurately sized to meet a homeowner’s needs, ensuring that you will save money.
For units that will power 10-12 circuits, you can expect to pay from $4,000 installed for a smaller backup unit to $7,000 for an average larger system. To power everything in a larger home, the price could easily double.
Don’t forget to factor into your decision the cost of annual maintenance—about $350.
Oak Electric sells, installs and services a wide range of backup generator systems from most of the leading manufacturers—including Briggs & Stratton, GE, Generac and Kohler.
Oak Electric understands homeowners’ needs and requirements when it comes to generators and make it our business to satisfy your preferences and requirements. If you are considering automatic standby or backup generation for your home or business, the professionals at Oak Electric Service are happy to answer your product and installation questions. We invite you to visit our website at www.oakelectric.comto learn more about us; or give us a call at (800) 964-7070.
