A power outage can happen at any time, so you need to be prepared. Home generators are a great way of keeping your household running. In an emergency situation, they provide high wattage and produce enough electricity for appliances, electronics and other household items to keep your home up and running during these blackouts .
The cost of a home generator varies widely because there are different sizes available. On the cheaper side, you are looking at $500 for a small, portable generator that can power a few of your home's lights and charge phones/laptops - but typically are not long term solutions and require tedious setup.
How to select the right home generator?
Make a list of what items you want your house to be able to use in the event of a power outage and make a note of the wattage consumed by each item. For example, make note of all of these item's wattage; all the lights in the bedroom, the refrigerator, the hot water tank, and the air conditioner/furnace.
Some of the most critical devices used in the event of a power outage are sewage pumps, refrigerators and heating systems. This means that you need to make sure that the generator you buy is powerful enough to boot and operate these appliances.
Another important factor to keep in mind when choosing a home generator is that some appliances tend to have a higher starting wattage than the running wattage. A refrigerator may require only 400 watts to operate after it is turned on, but it may require 2500 watts to even turn on. Therefore, the generator needs at least 2500 peak watts to start the refrigerator.
The average cost of a whole home generator varies between $ 6,000 and $12,000. Prices can go as high as $ 14,000, but you don't have to spend a fortune to get a good generator that will still power most of your home.