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I'm Steve Maxwell and since 1988 I've been helping people get the most from their homes
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And over the last few years I've noticed a real rise in interest in what are called home standby generators
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They provide emergency backup power when the grid goes down and this video explains all about how it works and how you can get started having one installed at your place
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The biggest difference between home standby generators like the one you see here and portable models
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is that the standbys are permanently wired into your home and they're designed to come on automatically as soon as grid power goes down
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You don't need to do anything and you don't need to be at home to get power
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By contrast, portable units are handy because you can move them around
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but they're also something of a pain because you need to connect them to your house with some kind of a cable
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That could be either an extension cord to plug individual items in
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or connecting to your panel through an approved switching mechanism. Another difference is power output
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Most portables are fairly small and they can power a few items in your home
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Standbys are larger and they can energize most if not all the electric items you've got
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One of the biggest bottom line benefits of home standbys for some people
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is that you don't have to add fuel to them like you do with portables
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Standbys are permanently connected to a supply of propane or natural gas
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and these fuels simply flow to the generator without you doing any work at all
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So how do home standbys work more or less automatically? Well special circuitry in the system detects when grid power goes down
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and the instant that happens a switch automatically disconnects your home from the grid
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and then makes an electrical connection to the generator itself while the engine is firing up
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Now when grid power comes back on again, the engine of the generator is switched off
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and the connection is automatically re-established to the grid. You will experience a small pause or flicker in power as the generator kicks in
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but this is just a momentary thing. As I mentioned before, home standbys are permanently installed somewhere in your yard
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but they can't go just anywhere. They need to be away from windows, doors, vents
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and air intakes because of the exhaust they give off. You'll also need to choose a location where it's handy to make a propane or natural gas connection
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and also where it's handy to remove snow and to get around the machine to do maintenance
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So how much power do you need in a home standby? The smallest units are about 7.5 kilowatts
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12.5 kilowatts is a common size. You'll see 20 kilowatt units and even larger
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The easiest way to determine exactly what you need is online. My favorite tool there is the Champion Generator Selector Tool
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There are other ways to make the calculation but this tool allows you to click on all the household items you want to power
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and then to tally it up and come to a final kilowatt output that you need for the generator for your home
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So what kind of maintenance does a home standby require? Well not too much
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You're going to have to have the oil changed about every 100 hours of operation
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The air cleaner is going to need to be kept clean and the spark plug will have to be replaced from time to time
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You can either do this work yourself or hire it out. If you've looked into generators at all
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you might be aware of the issue of clean versus dirty power. Not all generators produce the kind of electricity that's suitable for sensitive electronics
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Using a standby generator is a better and safer way to power computers
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home entertainment equipment, and even appliances with sensitive electronic controls. The risk of damage from a portable generator these days is pretty low
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but the risk is even lower with a standby or an inverter. So how do you know if a given generator can put out power that's clean enough for you
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Look for a rating called Total Harmonic Distortion or THD. If this figure is no more than 4 to 5 percent
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then you know that that given generator can power everything in your home safely
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So how much does a home standby generator cost? Well, you'll pay anywhere from $2,100 to about $4,500 for the unit itself
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plus an additional 40 to 60 percent for the installation job. Home standby generators aren't the kind of thing that most people can install on their own
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so the next step would be to find some kind of an advisor to help you choose the size of the unit
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the electrical layout, and the fuel source that makes sense for you
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An electrician or a home standby generator dealer is the best person to turn to
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An advisor will also help you to decide on exactly where to install the unit
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what sort of support pad you need, and whether or not a load controller makes sense for your installation
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Also sometimes called demand control, the bottom line is that you'll be able to power
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more of your home with a smaller generator and at lower cost
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I hope you found this lesson on home standby generators useful. Thanks for watching
