Power outages are no trivial matter, especially during the winter. Unlike during the summer, losing power in the winter can be incredibly dangerous! Winter weather that causes power outages almost always brings snow and ice, which means that help might have trouble getting to you right away.

Thankfully, purchasing your own generator can keep you from having to wait out those cold, powerless winter days. But how do you choose the right generator for your family?

What to look for in a backup generator

The best way to choose the most energy efficient generator is to determine the specific needs that you have, and then pick the option that is the most affordable for your situation.

You’ll want to size it adequately for your home, plan where it will live and how you’ll be using it, and then (after making a purchase) do several test runs of the machine to make sure it works properly. That way you’ll be prepared when you actually need to run it!

If you have a space where you can easily set up a generator (and keep it there all year round), you may want to choose a stationary generator. However, if you need to move the generator out of storage to function, you’ll likely want to choose a portable generator.

To help you determine how much power you will need from a generator, try this handy online tool from Kohler! This is a good starting point, but you should contact a local professional for more information.

Important note: the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning is something that you should take very seriously. In fact, if you have a connected garage and you are going to be running your generator there, it’s incredibly important that you have adequate insulation and weather-stripping so that those poisonous gases don’t flow right into your home with the cold!

Learn more about residential energy efficiency by reading the rest of our Bright Insights blog posts!

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