According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the typical household has one to two power outages each year lasting about three hours each. Merts Heating & Air Conditioning knows that in the real world those numbers can be deceiving. Some power outages, especially those caused by storms, can last for days or even months. When that happens to your Illinois or Northwest Indiana home, the result can be spoiled food, frozen pipes, flooded basements, and moldy walls.
Protecting against outages
The best protection is a standby generator, but the multitude of types and sizes can be overwhelming for the typical consumer. Merts wants to give you some easy to use explanations if you are considering buying a generator for your house.
Recreational inverter costs $400–$1,000
These are the types of generators you might see at a campsite because they are quiet.
Lightweight means it’s easy to store and transport.
The most powerful will be about 2,000 watts.
Enough to power a refrigerator and some lights.
Midsize inverter costs $1,000–$1,700
Still pretty lightweight and quiet to operate.
Delivers up to 3,500 watts.
Will still power only 110-volt appliances with standard plug ins.
Portable models costing $700–$2,800
Probably the best value generators in terms of cost and power generated.
Up to 7,500 watts which is enough to power most of the house.
Can be hardwired into the home’s electrical panel.
Hard to handle weighing close to 300 pounds.
Uses much more gas than inverted models.
Will need multiple cans of gas for extended outages.
Whole home standby models costing $2,000–$6,000
Best generator for whole house needs.
Up to 20,000 watts to power everything including HVAC systems.
Usually run on natural gas, propane, or diesel fuel.
Permanent installation hard wired into the homes electrical panel.
Generator starts automatically when the power goes out and shuts down when power returns.
Protect yourself against the threat
Everyone is aware of the nearly year-round risk of damaging weather events in Illinois and Northwest Indiana. Ice storms, blizzards, severe thunderstorms, and tornadoes. The question homeowners have to answer is what level of protection do you want for your home? Call Merts Heating & Air Conditioning to talk about your options. We feature generators by Briggs & Stratton, a leader in reliability when it comes to power equipment. Be sure to like and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.