Tennessee is a beautiful place to live. In Nashville, you’ve got all the culture and music you could ask for, with gorgeous countryside a short distance away. Sadly, though, Tennessee is ranked pretty poorly for safety, and one of the major reasons for this has to do with the weather. Tornadoes in the spring and summer and hail and ice storms in the winter can cause major hazards… and power outages.
When you rent your home, your landlord is responsible for making sure your building stays safe. Purchasing a home means that anything that happens to or in your home is your responsibility. What can new homeowners do to stay safe and prepare for emergencies? We recommend a generator, and there are some things you should know before purchasing one.
Portable Generators
A portable generator can be purchased at a hardware store. It can provide a modest amount of electricity to keep some absolute necessities running in the case of a power outage. You will need to prioritize what matters most and use extension cords to connect those few things.
A portable generator requires that you keep fuel on hand to run it, and you will have to set it up and turn it on outdoors when you need it, which means being out in the very weather that caused the outage to begin with. So while this is the cheapest option, it provides the least benefit and comes with some risk.
Whole House Generators
A whole house generator is added to your home’s electrical system by a qualified electrician. It can provide enough power to keep your whole home running. It does not require that you keep fuel on hand, because it connects to your local natural gas provider’s lines. You won’t have to worry about the fire hazard of fuel jugs in your garage, and you won’t have to choose a select few items to keep powered up.
Automatic Standby Generators
This type of system solves the last remaining problem of having your power go out: the need to start the generator up. If the outage occurs while you are asleep or away from home, there’s nothing to worry about. An automatic standby generator will start up by itself, keeping everything in your home running seamlessly.
Generator Maintenance
In order to have your generator work when you need it most, it must be kept in good condition. It would be terrible to invest in such a system only to have it fail you during an outage because of a problem you didn’t know about! The way to prevent this is with regular generator maintenance. This keeps the system clean and lubricated and ready to run, and catches any little issues before they become big problems.
Generator Repair
For the same reason, it’s important to get repairs done promptly when you realize there’s a problem with your generator. If you’re not getting the power you need from your generator, if it’s making a new noise, or if there’s anything odd about how it’s operating, having it repaired sooner could mean the difference between a quick fix and a major breakdown that compromises your ability to keep your power running.
If you have any other questions about home generators in Nashville, TN, we’re happy to answer them.
Covenant Heating and Cooling is your trusted resource for generator installation, maintenance, and repair in Nashville, TN. We are “Dedicated to the Promise of Serving You!” Contact us today.