Monday, April 22, 2013
While we have been lucky so far this year, it is fairly
certain that we will be getting some spring and summer storms. Often, especially in our area, it takes
little more than a cloudy sky and a moderate breeze to disrupt the power. Most often such outages are short lived. There have been some extraordinary storms
that have left many without commercial electrical service for a week or
more.
There are many options available to keep your lights on and at
least some of your appliances working during a black out. If your pocketbook is deep enough you can
invest in an automatic backup generator. Units come in various sizes and
models. Some can power your entire house
even the central air conditioning. Models
with this capacity will cost several thousands of dollars and require a
certified electrician to install. This
last part is critical. A system that is
incorrectly installed not only can damage your appliances; it can put power
company workers miles from your house in serious danger. This is not a do-it-yourself weekend project.
When the power goes out the generator starts and a special
transfer switch disconnects your house from the incoming commercial power and
connects all or some of your circuits to the generator. When the commercial power returns the system
senses the change and reconnects your house to commercial power and turns off
the generator.
Some, like me, have a smaller generator that can keep my
sump pumps, refrigerator and lights on during an outage. Rather than interfacing this generator with
my household wiring, I have installed special isolated circuits serving various
parts of my house. These are entirely separate from my regular wiring and do
not ever come in contact with the regular house wiring. Using receptacles connected to these special
circuits and some extension cords I can power the various small appliances and
lighting. This is not as convenient as a
large capacity fully automatic system, but it does the job and can be installed
for about $500. Again, a word of warning
- Never connect the generator to your
breaker box even if you turn off the main breaker.
There is one more important caution. Most of these
generators operate on gasoline. Some
larger ones can be powered by diesel, natural gas or propane. No matter the type never place the generator
in a closed area like garage or screened in porch. The exhaust can enter the house and cause
carbon monoxide poisoning. Every year we
read of families perishing because of misuse of a backup generator.
Generators are like flashlights. If you have one you most likely won’t need
it. If you don’t have one you will need
it.
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