A power outage creates a lot of issues with your home. Not only does your home lose internet, television, and lighting access, but you have to worry about the perishable food items in your refrigerator and freezer.
Follow our guide to learn how long you have to protect food and how generators will help you save you money on food and keep your perishables protected in the long run.
Refrigerator Food Safety
During a power outage, food can spoil quickly. When a refrigerator is left closed, you only have four hours before some foods spoil. The time is cut down significantly each time the door opens. Power outages can easily extend beyond this time, especially during a large storm.
You could lose out on valuable food items including meats, produce, and dairy products. Without power to properly cook the items, you may not be able to prepare the food and cut your losses. A backup standby generator will automatically supply a refrigerator with power and ensure the food does not go bad.
With an instant conversion process, the power will click over to the generator and you will not have to question whether the food has spoiled or not.
Freezer Food Safety
The freezer has a whole different timeline when considering food safety. If the freezer is completely full, you have around 48 hours to keep the food protected. The time varies based on the amount of food placed in the freezer. If the freezer is fuller, the food will last longer during a power outage because the food helps each other stay cold for longer.
A half-full freezer has about 24 hours before the food begins to thaw. Once food does thaw, you only have a couple hours before the food is considered the safe. The general rule is that if the food has ice crystals on it, the food can refreeze safely. If the food is fully thawed, it should be thrown out.
A standby generator is ideal for freezers during long and extended power outages. Most generators have the capacity to power your home for three full weeks. The timeline is far longer than a portable generator and will supply your home with the power needed to protect your food items.
Some homes may have storage freezers located in basements or garages. You do not need to worry about running cables or setting up separate generators for the items. The use of a standby generator will provide power to the whole home so the freezers will have power when needed.
Specialty Items
When you consider the installation of a standby generator, you must consider the protection of specialty items inside your refrigerator or freezer. For example, new parents may have a supply of breast milk kept in the freezer. Unlike going to the store to replace milk products, breast milk supplies are often limited and precious.
A baby only drinks so much milk within a day and the breast milk would go to waste if it was thawed out. Once breast milk thaws, it must be used or discarded. Months of work could be wasted if the breast milk goes bad. Not only will a standby generator provide power to protect the milk, but the power also helps power breast pumps when needed.
New parents already have enough stress and you do not want a power outage to cause a lot of unnecessary problems. As you take care of a baby, you do not want have to worry about hooking up portable generator and increasing possible CO2 levels in the home.
For more information on our standby generators, contact us at Oak Electric. We will help supply you with a standby generator installation before the power outage occurs and our trained technicians will education and inform you about your new generator installation.
