The whole category in one page.
MEASURE BEFORE YOU BUY ANYTHING
Record your actual supply hours for a month and list every load in watts. Every purchase is sized from those two numbers, and guessing is what makes power spending wasteful.
BACK UP THE ESSENTIAL LOAD, NOT THE PREMISES
Sort equipment into must-never-stop, should-not-stop and can-stop. Separating circuits during installation is what makes a system affordable.
CALCULATE YOUR REAL COST PER UNIT ACROSS EVERY SOURCE
Grid, fuel, servicing, batteries, damaged equipment and downtime combined. Generator power typically costs several times grid power, and that figure is what justifies every alternative.
REDUCE CONSUMPTION FIRST, THEN PROTECT, THEN STORE, THEN GENERATE
Each step lowers the cost of the next. Lighting, air conditioning settings and equipment left running are where the easy savings are.
AN OVERSIZED GENERATOR IS NOT A SAFE CHOICE
Running lightly loaded wastes fuel and, in diesel engines, causes damage. Size against the continuous rating and your essential load.
COMPARE BATTERIES ON COST PER USABLE UNIT ACROSS THEIR LIFE, NOT PURCHASE PRICE
Lead-acid gives you only part of its rated capacity; that changes the comparison completely.
NEVER RUN A GENERATOR INDOORS, AND NEVER WIRE ONE IN WITHOUT A PROPER TRANSFER SWITCH — BOTH KILL PEOPLE
GET EARTHING TESTED, BECAUSE EVERY OTHER PROTECTION DEPENDS ON IT
AND KEEP A LOG OF EVERY OUTAGE, BECAUSE IT IS YOUR EVIDENCE FOR BILLING DISPUTES AND YOUR BASIS FOR THE NEXT DECISION
