Whole Home Generators: pros, cons and costs

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Being without power is a homeowner nightmare that can be avoided with a whole home generator. Power outages can cause a lot of issues in the home, from spoiled food to lack of heat. Electric generator costs have declined in recent years, making it possible for a greater number of people to benefit from investing in one.

A whole home generator provides power to the entire home and can be set to kick in automatically if the home goes off grid. Whole home generators are capable of providing the energy to keep your home running in the event that power is lost due to storms, natural disasters or blackouts.

Whole home generators works from fuels like liquefied petroleum and natural gas. Connected to your home's electrical wiring and its fuel source, this type of generator will detect a power outage and start itself instantly. Once voltage has been restored to the grid, the system will automatically revert back to your traditional power system and turn itself off.

Whole home generators sense when the power is off and protect your home even while you are away. You don't have to worry about returning home from vacation to frozen pipes, a flooded basement, or spoiled food in the refrigerator due to power outages. This type of generator is quiet, and because it is installed outside, it operates without odor and does not leak carbon monoxide into the home.

If someone in your home is dependent upon medical equipment powered by electricity, like ventilators or an oxygen concentrator, a whole home generator ensures your loved ones will safe in the event of a power outage.  

A whole home generator is a better option for most homeowners than a portable generator that has to be taken out of storage, lugged into the place where it will be used and started. The noxious fumes that are emitted by a portable generator can be dangerous if used in close proximity to the home. Moreover, a portable generator is limited in what it can actually power. Only some circuits can be run from a portable generator, like lighting and a refrigerator.

Price is the one major drawback to using a whole home generator. Basic units cost several thousand dollars, and an average unit costs around $5,000. A top-of-the-line whole home generator can run $14,000 or more.

Despite the high costs of whole home generators, this is one purchase that every homeowner will appreciate in the likely event of a power outage. Reply! can provide you with estimates for installing a new whole home generator.