Generators are often seen as convenience items to have when you go on camping adventures. They can keep your mobile devices powered and even allow you to bring some of the comforts of home, like portable fridges and laptop computers.
However, whole house generators, portable generators, and inverter generators can be crucial for a whole host of other reasons. If you’re unsure why businesses and individuals are singing their praises, consider the following information.
1. They Can Save You From Significant Losses
Unrefrigerated food can no longer be safe to eat in a matter of hours. Whether you’ve suffered a freezer or fridge malfunction, or the power is out in your area, you may be searching ‘what generator to use for home’ a lot sooner than you might think.
Rather than risk losing hundreds of dollars of food in a power outage, you can purchase a whole house generator or inverter generator to keep those essential appliances operational. They can also prove helpful if your fridge or freezer has broken down and you need extra time to go shopping for a new one. Even though a generator might cost you money to purchase, it can end up also saving you money in this situation.
2. Your Car Is Electric
Electric vehicles are taking the market by storm, causing building regulations to change to allow for new homes to be built EV-ready with charging units. However, when your car runs on the same power supply as your home, this can create quite a tricky situation. There’s no way to charge your vehicle when your property is experiencing a power outage.
This scenario may become more and more common as people transition to EV vehicles. While the power grids may eventually be upgraded for reliability, power outages can still happen for any number of reasons. Having a generator can prevent them from impacting your ability to leave your home.
3. Your Basement Has a Sump Pump
Sometimes, no matter how much waterproofing you do, your basement can still be subject to flooding, especially if your region’s water table is particularly high. As a result, homeowners purchase sump pumps to pump water away from their basements to stop it from pooling and causing potentially catastrophic damage. When the water reaches the sump pump’s float, it activates the switch and gets to work pumping water away from the home’s foundation.
The problem is that power outages quite often occur during periods of heavy rainfall and storms. This may be the worst time to experience an outage, particularly when you need your sump pump to operate at total capacity.
In situations such as this, having a portable generator, inverter generator, or even a whole house generator can be imperative for protecting your basement and home from potentially costly damage. As soon as you notice the power has gone out, you can turn off the pump’s switch, plug it into your generator, and have it working once more.
4. You Use Power Tools
Using power tools in your home is reasonably straightforward. You can plug them into a power supply or keep spare batteries on charge while swapping them out once they go flat.
However, many situations can call for an additional power supply that you may not have convenient access to. For example, you might be working on a new build as a home builder with no utilities connected to the property. You might even be working at the far end of your expansive property, with no close or convenient power supply.
Having a portable generator for such occasions can ensure you can carry on with business as usual. As convenient as battery-operated power tools are, they still require a power source to keep them functional.
5. Your Property Relies On Well Water
We can take for granted that water will always flow freely when we turn on our taps. That might be the case for city dwellers, but not always for those living in rural locations. Often, without access to the main water supply, rural properties rely on wells. Electric pumps are then installed to pump that water from the wells to their homes.
When there’s a power outage, these pumps stop working. As a result, homeowners can’t shower, wash dishes, access fresh drinking water from the tap, or wash their clothes. Portable generators can be ideal short-term measures to solve this problem. While you will need to keep them filled with petrol or diesel, they can allow for an ongoing water source until your regular power supply comes back on.
6. You Live Somewhere With Challenging Weather Conditions
If you live somewhere that experiences frequent storms, flooding, fires, or other disasters, having a backup power supply can be critical. When severe weather events occur or power lines are damaged, you may be without power for several days or even weeks. A generator can ensure you’re able to keep food fresh while also being able to access the necessities of life.
7. You Work From Home
Having a power cut when you work away from home doesn’t present many challenges. You can leave for the day and arrive home with a high chance that it would have been restored. However, if you work from home, power outages can cost you money. An inverter generator or whole house generator can keep your internet and computer running so that your day has as few interruptions as possible.
Even though a generator might seem like it’s just a convenient addition to your camping supplies box, it can be so much more. From powering your working-from-home setup to making sure you don’t go without water, it can be worth its weight in gold.
