Utah outages are usually short, but the ones that are not tend to arrive in January with wind behind them. If you are on a well, at the end of a rural feeder, or running a home office you cannot lose, backup power stops being a luxury.
Standby versus portable
A standby generator sits on a pad, runs on natural gas or propane, starts itself within seconds of losing power and shuts down when the grid returns. A portable costs far less, lives in the garage, and requires you to go outside in the weather, start it, run cords or an inlet, and refuel it every few hours. Both are legitimate. The question is whether anyone will be home and willing to do the work at 2am.
Sizing without overspending
Start from what must run rather than what could. A typical essentials list is a furnace blower, a well pump, a refrigerator, a freezer, some lighting, and the internet. That is a modest load and a modest generator. Add central air conditioning and an electric range and the machine roughly doubles. We total the real numbers, including motor starting current, before recommending a size. See generator installation.
Transfer switches
- Automatic, whole panel. Everything comes back on its own. Needs the largest generator.
- Automatic, essential circuits. A small sub panel holds the circuits worth backing up. Cheapest route to a hands-off system, and the one we fit most often.
- Manual with an inlet box. For portables. You start the unit and throw a switch. Safe, legal and far better than the backfeed tricks people find online.
Whatever you choose, the transfer switch is the part that keeps generator power off the utility lines. Never run a generator into a wall outlet.
Fuel
Natural gas means never refuelling, which is why most Utah standby installs use it where a line already exists. Propane suits rural properties without gas service but needs a tank sized for a multi-day outage. Diesel shows up mostly on commercial jobs.
Maintenance is the part people skip
A standby generator runs a weekly self-test and needs an annual service: oil, filters, battery and a load test. The most common failure we are called to is a unit that has not been touched since installation and whose battery died two winters ago.
Battery backup as an alternative
Home batteries are silent, need no fuel and pair well with solar. They also cost more per kilowatt-hour of backup and will not carry a heat pump through a three-day outage without a big array. For short, frequent outages they are excellent. For long winter ones, a generator still wins.
Talk it through with someone who will tell you when the smaller option is enough: (888) 633-7804.