Has a power outage left you and your family in the dark? A Standby Generator provides reliable, permanent backup power for your home.
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How Generators Work
Island Generator Co. offers efficient home generators with innovative, award-winning technology that you can depend on. These generators have an automatic transfer switch, that provides your home with managed power while you remain safely indoors. Home standby generators are permanently installed and connected to a fuel source.
Choosing a Generator
Generator Systems have a range of generator sizes to best suit your home’s power needs. You can choose a natural gas or liquid propane generator, depending on the fuel source available at your home. Island Generator Co. also provides commercial generators for businesses seeking backup power solutions.
What Types of Generators Are There?
Generators come in two basic types: standby and portable. There also are inverters, which are not generators but may meet your needs. The source of backup power you ultimately choose will be determined by many factors, including your power requirements.
Standby Generators
Standby Generators: A standby generator is permanently installed outside your home or commercial building and wired directly into the electrical system to provide power to some or all of your home’s circuits during a disruption of normal utility power. Depending on the model, they may start automatically when the power goes out and stop when the power returns. Standby generators are fueled by liquid propane or natural gas and require professional installation, often with a permit.
The number of circuits to which a standby generator can provide power–and the number of appliances you can run on those circuits–is determined by the power capacity of the generator.
Standby generators are typically fully enclosed and vary in size. Check the dimensions carefully. A standby model may cost as little as $1,500 or as much as $15,000 or more–the greater the power capacity, the higher the cost.
Portable Generators
Portable Generators: Portable generators are versatile. You can use them for emergency power at home, for power in remote locations where utility power is unavailable, or for recreational purposes, like boating or camping.
Portable generators are fueled by gasoline and include 120-volt power outlets like the ones in the walls of your home. When the generator is running, you can plug appliances and tools directly into these outlets. Some generators also include 120/240 or 240-volt outlets. These are especially useful for running powering into a transfer switch.
Portable generators range in cost between a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars depending on the capacity and features.
Inverters
Inverters: Inverters turn DC power into AC power, the type of current that powers everyday appliances. A common use of an inverter is to connect one into a car’s cigarette lighter and then plug small home appliances into the inverter.
Inverters have added features over the years, and today many inverters include emergency radios, lights, or their own internal battery to store power.
When you purchase an inverter, you need one that can handle the wattage of the appliances you intend to connect to it. Some inverters are made specifically to power low-wattage appliances, like portable phones or digital music players. Others can handle heavy-duty power tools.
If you’re buying an inverter that’s powered by its own battery, you’ll have to consider how many hours the inverter can provide power before needing a recharge.
