Choosing the Right Generator; Standby or Portable for Your Home | Florence, SC

Choosing the Right Generator; Standby or Portable for Your Home | Florence, SC

Photo By fizkes at Shutterstock

Power outage is a major problem for areas that have harsh weather conditions. Life can come to a halt if there is no electrical supply. Extreme weather conditions can cause prolonged loss of power which can lead to a hindrance in everyday life. Keeping a generator in the Florence, SC area is important because weather can be unpredictable and power outages become inevitable as a result of it.

While both, standby and portable generators have the same function, choosing home generators, depends upon your needs and affordability and other factors.

We have covered all the major aspects that can help you decide which generator is best suited for your house.

Affordability

The biggest deciding factor between the standby and portable generator for your home is perhaps the affordability factor. The standby generator ranges from roughly $25,00 to $5,000 while the portable generator costs about $500 to $2,000. Moreover, there are installation charges as well that differs for both kinds of generators. The portable generator has fuel cost to power the generator and no set-up cost as such while the set-up costs for the standby ones can be high but there are no additional fuel costs as it is connected to your home’s natural gas or propane source. In addition to this, portable generators are easily available at hardware stores and you can purchase them right away.

So if you are choosing a generator for your home, analyse your buying power along with the cost of installation and operation also with your consumption needs and other factors listed below as well. There’s no point in buying a standby generator if your needs can be fulfilled by a portable one.

Operation

Before making a buying decision for your generator you need to analyse your living situation. If you have a family with kids and elderly, a standby generator is a good option for you as it operates automatically. So even if you are away from home, your family will not have to sit in the dark and wait for you to come back and power it on. In addition to this, the portable generator uses fuel or gasoline that emits harmful gas that can be hazardous for your kids. The noise produced by the portable generator is also louder than the standby which can be disturbing for the elderly, specially. The portable generator also needs protection or canopy in times of rain or storm. Keep in mind these factors as well before choosing your generator.

Consumption Needs

In times of harsh weather conditions like a flood or a hurricane, the power lines are broken and the electricity goes out for a long period of time; sometimes even days until the issues are fixed. The prolonged power outages can greatly affect our day to day lives. From your electrical appliances to your internet connection, everything is powered by electricity. A Wi-Fi connection is not only required to stay connected with your family and friends in times of natural disasters but also if you work from home and a prolonged power outage has disturbed your work schedule. You have deadlines to meet and without electricity, you cannot work on your laptops or use the internet.

Moreover, living without your AC, refrigerator and other appliances seems like a nerve-racking task. If there is a patient in the house that needs medical equipment powered by electricity at all times, there has to be a system that can keep operating it until the power comes back.

A portable generator is this case can be very unreliable as it cannot operate continuously for a long period of time as it might heat up. Also, you may run out of fuel at some point, leaving yourself in a helpless situation.

Do go through all these factors before purchasing your generator in the Florence, SC area.

Power Needs

The type of your generator also depends greatly on the size of your house. If your house ranges from 2000-3000 square feet you don’t need a standby generator. For house less than 2000 square feet, a portable generator is the only suitable option as the space required for installing a standby generator would not be enough. You need to also consider your power needs. If you don’t want your generator to operate heavy-duty appliances like your AC or refrigerator, a standby generator is not required. A portable generator is suitable for areas where power doesn’t go out for a long period of time. For short intervals of power outages, when you want to operate only the low power consuming appliances like lights, fan; a portable generator is the best option.

Analyse your power consumption and then come up with the choice for generator in the Florence, SC area.

Maintenance

Service and maintenance is mandatory for any kind of generator. A portable generator requires regular maintenance for fuel and oil check-up, cleaning, greasing and other things while a standby generator requires a periodic extensive maintenance service which can be a little heavy on the pocket. In both cases, DIYs are not recommended as it can be very risky. Hire professionals that are trained for this purpose. Mister Sparky Generators are highly skilled professionals that offer a range of services for your generators; from installation to all kinds of maintenance services. Standby or portable you don’t need to worry about the maintenance of your generators in the Florence, SC area.

Hopefully, all the above-mentioned information will help you weigh the pros and cons of both kinds of generators and you will be able to make the right buying decision for your generator in the Florence, SC area. In short, standby generators are costlier but are more reliable while the portable generators are cheaper and best for areas with short power outages.