Choosing a Backup Generator

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Special Section: Preparing for Power Blackouts

Don't get left in the dark. Here's what you need to know for emergency power

By Greg Pahl

Power failures can be a real pain—and downright dangerous—if you're not prepared. At the very least, blackouts disable heating and air-conditioning systems, freezers, refrigerators, water pumps and lighting. If the power outage lasts for any length of time, your home can become uncomfortable and possibly uninhabitable: Your water pipes may freeze and burst, the food in your freezer may thaw and spoil, or your sump pump may fail, flooding your basement. Any of these events can quickly become expensive. If a blizzard blocks roads and you're snowed-in during subzero temperatures, grid failure can even be life-threatening.

But you can make your home blackout-proof. Installing a solar PV system or a wind generator is the greenest option, letting you cut your ties to the fossil fuels and nuclear power that produce nearly all grid-based electricity. (For more on these options, see "Go Solar, Be Secure" at http://www.motherearthnews.com )

Another possibility is buying a backup generator, usually powered by a conventional internal combustion engine. Used with or without renewable energy, a backup generator can eliminate the headaches of long-term power outages.

In 1985, I lived at the tail end of along electric distribution line in rural Vermont. One January night, a severe ice storm hit and the electricity went off, as usual. But this time it did not return hours later, or even the next day. The morning after, I surveyed the damage outside—our electric lines were lying on the ground across the driveway and the power line right-of-way had disappeared in a tangle of bent, ice-coated trees. The utility company's crews were overwhelmed by the damage. We went without electric service for a week.

Fortunately, we had a woodstove and a backup generator. The generator powered a few lights, the refrigerator and a television. Most importantly, it kept the heated, automatic waterers for the 75 sheep in the barn from freezing.

It's hard to appreciate just how valuable a generator can be until you've lived through a lengthy power outage without one. Many people wish for backup power only when it's too late. Generators quickly sell out before and during emergencies, so don't wait until the next major power failure to consider buying one.

The two main types of residential generators are portable and permanent standby. If you plan to power a few lights, your refrigerator and a furnace, a less expensive portable generator may provide enough power. If you intend to run your lights and furnace—along with a well pump, a freezer and other major appliances—you will need a permanent standby model.

Typically such a generator is mounted on a concrete pad and connected directly to your home's electrical circuits via an automatic transfer switch that starts the generator during a blackout and shuts it off when grid power returns (more on transfer switches later).