Winter is here! It’s a time to keep warm; at the same, it’s the season for storms, which unfortunately may translate to power outages.
To stay ahead of blackouts, you’re considering a whole house generator installation; that’s a smart move.
For one, your home will be now emergency-proof since these standby generators automatically pick up in case of power loss.
Plus, you’ll have enough electricity to power most if not all your home appliances, and power outages and the freezing winter will have nothing on you.
However, there’s so much to consider when it comes to installing whole house generators:
- They need to be permanently wired into your home
This means, not just the cost of the generator is your only worry, there’s also;
- The installation costs
- The availability of fuel, which means there are the added costs of installing gas lines or fuel tanks
- Electrical connections; the fact that it’s automatic, you also need a transfer switch configuration into your electrical connections to aid the switch up.
- The generators capacity based on your home needs Since it’s a whole house generator, you may want it to power most if not all of your primary home systems, including your appliances, which of course, makes the generator’s capacity an issue. Generators’ capacities are determined by the number of kilowatts they can carry, and a kilowatt represents 1000 watts, so for a 5kW generator, that is 5000watts of power. 5-10kW range generator is a small generator, so if you need to power more devices, you’ll need a bigger generator.
- Permits Installing a whole-house generator may require you to obtain electrical and fire permits, among others. The permits may vary depending on your locality. You may also want to consider restriction laws.
