Cost of Power Outages vs. Home Standby Generator Investment

The real cost of power outages

Losing power to your home can be more than an inconvenience. Extended outages cost real money. To say nothing of the time you have to spend making repairs, replacing food and stressing about missing work or school. All these financial, logistical and emotional tolls can be avoided with the one-time investment in a home standby generator. Is it worth it? Here’s how it all adds up.

Replacing all the food in the fridge when the power goes out.

When the power clicks off and doesn’t immediately rush back on, the first thought for many is about losing everything in their fridge and freezer. And for good reason – those who keep a stocked kitchen could lose hundreds of dollars on fresh foods. But don’t panic – if you keep the doors closed, food in your refrigerator is safe to eat for about 4 hours without electricity. Beyond that, the FDA1 recommends discarding meat, poultry, fish, eggs and leftovers. If your freezer is full, it should hold a safe temperature for up to 48 hours.

Unable to charge and use your EV.

If your primary mode of transportation is an electric vehicle, it may be hours before you realize that being without power means you’re also without a vehicle. And if you need to leave a storm-affected area after a prolonged outage, that becomes a serious problem that might only be remedied by a generator or solar battery backup.

Home damage due to lack of climate control.

After suffering through an extended period of time without power at your home, maybe spending hundreds on hotel stays and replacement food, now you find damage to your home itself? It happens all the time. A sump pump can’t do its job. The A/C doesn’t remove the moisture from the air after a hurricane and mold starts to creep in. You come home after a winter storm to find pipes have burst... the list goes on. These repairs can take a long time to get done, waiting on an insurance claim, and competing with others in your community for skilled workers. If you can avoid this kind of damage, do it. Invest in a power generator for your home and have full peace of mind.

Invest in peace of mind.

The fact that power outages are inconvenient, costly and disruptive to daily life is no surprise. And, the frequency of prolonged outages is on the rise nationwide. Many homeowners find one of the biggest benefits they get from an investment in a Generac home standby generator is peace of mind, knowing they’re prepared for seasonal storms or the effects of an unreliable, aging energy infrastructure.