Residential generators are devices that supply power to your home during a power outage. In the event of an emergency or blackout, they can allow homeowners to continue to use some necessary appliances. This would include lights, refrigerators, air conditioners and heating appliances.
When choosing a residential generator for your home, some things should be considered before making your purchase. First, do you need a portable unit or a standby unit? What type of fuel did you want your device to be powered by? The available fuel types are diesel, natural gas, gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas.
The least expensive of the portable residential generators is the gasoline model. The one drawback with these units is that they have a limited runtime. You would need to fill them on a regular basis during the day because they would run out of gas if used continuously.
For a long term emergency, standby residential generators are more reliable and more efficient than a portable unit. This is because they are hooked up to an external fuel source such as natural gas, thus they can provide continuous power.
Another option to consider is how the devices are connected and activated during a power outage. If you are using a portable device, it must be wheeled out, connected to your load, filled with fuel, and then started up manually.
The big difference with standby residential generators is that they are already connected to your home and fuel supply. Thus, with the auto transfer switch they can start automatically at the outset of a power loss. Once the power has been restored, the device will sense that and automatically shut down. The average transfer time of the automatic system is around ten to thirty seconds.
Another important point to consider when choosing from the best residential generators is the cost of the system along with the actual duration of time you feel you would need an emergency power source. In addition, what source of fuel is readily available to you and the overall ease and convenience of use for the entire unit?
