Portable Generators: A Cost Effective Way to Keep Your Home Powered During Outages
Beverly and surrounding communities in the South and Southwest Suburbs have endured one of the worst summer storm seasons in recent memory, and winter storm season is just around the corner. Multiple storms caused considerable damage and disrupted power for days, in some cases weeks. Many of the same areas were repeatedly hit, making the situation even worse.
Fortunately, you can avoid another extended outage and disruption to your life with a professionally configured portable generator, an affordable and convenient alternative to a whole home generator. A portable generator can help keep the essentials of your home running during an outage, but purchasing a generator is only part of the solution. How it is connected, located, and operated matters just as much.
With the right preparation and a professionally installed connection, a portable generator can provide practical backup power without relying on a permanent whole home generator system--and with considerably less investment in time and money.
What a Portable Generator Can Power
The answer depends on the generator's capacity and the electrical demands of the appliances and systems you select.
Depending on its size, a portable generator may help operate essential items such as:
Refrigerators and freezers
Selected lights and outlets
Sump pumps
Furnaces or heating-system components
Wi-Fi
Certain other essential household circuits
The goal is generally not to power everything in the home but to identify the circuits that matter most and make sure the generator can handle their combined electrical load.
A SAFE technician can help you prioritize those circuits and determine whether your generator is appropriately sized for the intended use.
Why a Professional Generator Connection Matters
Running individual extension cords may work for a small appliance or two, but it is not a convenient or comprehensive way to provide backup power to household circuits.
A professionally installed generator connection can include an exterior power inlet and approved transfer equipment that safely directs generator power to selected circuits in the home. This creates a more organized and reliable setup when an outage occurs.
Most importantly, the transfer equipment prevents generator power from feeding back into the utility system.
Connecting a generator directly to a household outlet - sometimes called backfeeding - is extremely dangerous. It can energize utility lines that workers believe are inactive, damage electrical equipment, and create serious fire or electrocution hazards.
A portable generator should never be improvised into a home's electrical system.
Prepare Before the Power Goes Out
The middle of a storm is not the time to determine whether your generator is compatible with your electrical panel, find the correct cords, or decide which circuits should receive power.
Preparing in advance allows a SAFE technician to evaluate:
Your existing electrical panel and available capacity
The generator's rated output
The appliances and systems you want to operate
The appropriate generator inlet location
The transfer equipment required for safe operation
Cord and connection requirements
Applicable electrical and permitting requirements
Once the connection is installed, you should also understand the correct sequence for starting the generator, transferring selected circuits to generator power, and returning the home to utility power.
Portable Generator Safety Starts Outdoors
Portable generators produce carbon monoxide, an odorless and potentially deadly gas. They should always be operated outdoors and well away from the home.
Federal emergency guidance recommends operating generators outside at least 20 feet from windows, doors and attached garages, with the exhaust directed away from the home. A generator should never be operated inside a house, basement, garage, enclosed porch or other partially enclosed area - even if doors or windows are open.
Additional precautions include:
Maintain working carbon-monoxide alarms on every level of the home
Keep the generator dry and follow the manufacturer's weather-protection instructions
Never operate it where exhaust can enter your home or a neighboring property
Allow the generator to cool before adding fuel
Store fuel safely and away from ignition sources
Use cords and connections rated for the generator and intended load
Follow the manufacturer's operating and maintenance instructions
Never connect a generator directly to a wall outlet
A professionally installed electrical connection makes generator use safer and more convenient, but it does not replace proper outdoor placement and operation.
Is a Portable Generator Connection Right for Your Home?
A portable-generator setup may be a good option if you want to maintain selected essential circuits during an outage without installing a permanently mounted standby system.
It can be particularly valuable for homes that rely on sump pumps, refrigeration, electrically powered furnace components or essential medical equipment. It can also provide added peace of mind during Chicago's severe-weather seasons.
The best time to prepare is before an outage.
SAFE Electrical can evaluate your home's electrical system, discuss the equipment you want to keep operating, and recommend an appropriate, code-compliant portable generator connection.
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Serving Beverly, Mount Greenwood, Morgan Park, and the South and Southwest Suburbs of Chicago.
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