Up until I became an adult, power outages really didn’t seem like a problem. At worst, it meant the TV went blank for a while, at best I’d get to skip my homework for a while due to the computer being offline. And usually, the power came back within an hour or two.
Now that I’m responsible for my own household, I can see why people get anxious about power outages. Essential appliances like furnaces, air conditioning units and refrigerators rely on electricity. And God forbid you have any type of vital medical equipment like oxygen machines plugged in. Losing power can be more than just a brief distraction; it can threaten your comfort, finances and health.
The solution to outages are backup generators but they come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. Since our network is all about green, eco-friendly products and services, we’re going to skip the standard lot and explore backup generators that use renewable or clean burning energy sources.
Before we jump in, let’s cover the basics: Generators typically come in two types: portable and built-in. Built-in systems are hardwired into your home and designed to run major appliances, if not the entire house. These units should be installed by a licensed professional, as they’ll require significant electrical know-how. Portable generators are smaller, cheaper units that you can wheel out on an as needed basis. They typically provide less power and are aimed at running select appliances.
When deciding what type of generator (or generators) you’ll need, the best place to start is in measuring how much electricity is required to keep critical devices online. You can simply add up the wattage required to run these select appliances but it’s a good idea to build in extra capacity. Consider this, according to Consumer Reports numbers, a central air conditioning system sucks up about 5,000 Watts, a window AC guzzles 1,000 Watts, a water heater drinks 3,000 Watts and a refrigerator uses 600 Watts. That’s a lot of energy for a backup generator! You could use significantly less electricity by purchasing a small top loading freezer unit, personal AC and electric blanket for short term use and save a bundle on generator costs.
Home generators cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars for small, portable, gas-powered units to tens of thousands of dollars for large, built-in models that require additional equipment like wind turbines.
Solar Generators:
One of the most basic types of renewable energy powered generators is the solar generator. In fact, the smallest solar generators can fit into a backpack and charge your cell phone or laptop battery. Because solar charging relies on photovoltaic cells as opposed to gas engines, they are quiet and clean.
Solar generators produce energy from the sun and rely on surface area to scale in production. Because of this they rely heavily on energy storage (backup batteries), which means that powerful units have a large, heavy footprint. Solar units are also more expensive than gas generators, with small, portable units starting around $1,000.
The solar powered generators that I’ve seen are primarily portable or semi-portable units designed for smaller appliances like televisions, computers, phones, lights, and sometimes refrigerators. The battery unit typically has several 120 V outlets to plug your appliances into, and you may be able to hardwire it into your home grid (electrician recommended).
A company called Powersource offers a wheeled solar generator with 1,800 Watt inverter. The company advertises the unit for powering such appliances as refrigerators, televisions and lights. That model retails for cose to $1,900. SunRnr of Virginia offers a series of larger solar generation systems ranging up to 7,000 Watts. The company’s offerings start at $3,800.
Natural Gas Generators:
Though the inclusion of the term “gas” makes natural gas sound dirty, the EPA says that it is one of the cleanest burning fuels out there. Natural gas generators also tend to be compatible with liquid propane which makes them versatile.
Generac is a large manufacturer of natural gas back-up generators that earned a Seal from the Good Housekeeping Research Institute. Generac’s Guardian series is a line of built-in, natural gas generators that range in size from 8 kW to 60 kW. The automatic standby generators detect when there’s an outage and kick in automatically to keep your power flowing smoothly. Prices start at around $2,000.
Wind Turbine Generators:
If you have a sizable piece of property and want to back your power supply up with energy sourced from wind, you might consider turbine systems. Wind generators designed for back-up use are smaller and less expensive (though still plenty expensive) than units designed to power an entire home. They generate electricity from wind and store it in battery packs for emergency back-up use.
Wind turbines are more of an investment than simple gas or solar powered generators you can wheel out from your shed in a pinch; they require dedicating land to a tower and turbine, an extensive installation procedure and hefty expense. The advantage of a wind turbine system is that energy produced beyond what’s needed to charge the batteries can be pumped into the grid and used to lower your energy bills through net metering.
Bergey Windpower offers the 2kWHome Sure System, which combines a 60-foot tower, turbine, inverter and eight-battery pack for up to 12 hours of essential-load back-up. The system produces between 160 and 300 kWh per month, depending upon wind conditions. It comes with a $16,000 price tag (plus installation and accompanying equipment costs that Bergey estimates between $3,000 and $9,000).
Southwest Windpower offers the 2.4 kW Skystream 3.7 system, which costs between $15,000 and $18,000 installed, but does not work as a back-up generator. This system delivers up to 400 kWh into your grid, cutting down on your reliance on (and payment to) your local power provider.
When weighing the up front costs posed by wind solutions remember to factor in any federal or state incentives given to renewable energy purchases. Don’t forget to research the sun and wind exposure before jumping in along with any zoning restrictions on height.
