What Are Portable Generators?
You can get a portable generator from your local hardware store and keep it in your garage when you don’t need it. When your power goes out, you have to set up your portable generator by taking it outside (NEVER run your portable generator in your home or garage, even with the door open!) and hooking it up to your home’s power with a heavy-duty generator cord. Usually, they need gas to run, so you’ve gotta make sure to shut it down and refill it if it runs low. Portable generators can only power a limited number of things in your home, so you’ll need to prioritize whichever appliances or devices you’d like to keep on in a storm or extended outage.
What Are Standby Generators?
A standby generator is a permanent addition to your home and is installed by professionals (like Morris-Jenkins!). You don’t have to refuel it or hook it up to anything yourself. When your power goes out, the standby generator will automatically start up and begin powering your home. When you have Morris-Jenkins out to install a standby generator for your home, we’ll talk to you about your family’s priorities and needs to make sure you get the perfect generator!
Standby home generators can power your necessities and more. Keep your air conditioner, Wi-Fi, medical devices, lights, refrigerator, and more powered up even in the worst storms!
What’s the Difference Between a Portable Generator and a Standby Generator?
Portable generators are cheaper and something you can get on a whim. When you decide to get a standby generator installed, Morris-Jenkins can install it quickly, but we need to work with your power company to finish getting it set up (and sometimes, that can take a while). A standby generator is something you need to have installed before the store knocks out your power. But once it’s installed, you don’t have to do anything! It’ll automatically turn on when your power goes out. Meanwhile, if your family relies on a portable generator during an outage, you’ll need to make sure it has gas and then go out and hook it up before things can get powered back up. And if you struggle to move heavy objects and don’t have someone in your home to help, a bulky portable generator is gonna be a tricky thing to move!
The only downside to a standby generator is the fact that you have to be proactive about getting one installed. Unlike a portable generator that you can run to the store and pick up whenever, a standby generator takes a little time. If you wait until the day a bad storm is supposed to hit, you won’t be able to get one installed before the storm. We get there faster, and we can install your standby generator quickly, but we have to work with your power company to get it running, so we’re at the mercy of their schedule.
How Do You Decide Between a Portable Generator and a Standby Generator?
When you wanna keep your home powered up through storm season, you need a generator, but it can feel a bit overwhelming trying to decide between getting a standby generator installed or just picking up a portable generator at the store. If you want a more hands-off approach, a standby generator is the move for you. When a nasty storm is raging outside, you don’t wanna have to go out in that to hook up a portable generator! A standby generator will be ready to go the moment your power cuts out, and you won’t have to worry about a thing. Not only that, but they last between 20-40 years, so when you invest in one, you’re making sure your family has power for literal decades. It’s hassle-free, adds to your property value, runs without any work from you, and turns on automatically.
Morris-Jenkins Installs Standby Generators!
If you’re ready to keep your home powered up without missing a beat, call Morris-Jenkins! We’ll send an expert out to talk with you about exactly what your family wants to keep powered up in an outage. That way, we can install the perfect generator for your home. If you just wanna keep some necessities powered up, we can help! If you wanna keep just about your whole home running like normal, we can also install a whole-home standby generator that runs RIGHT. And remember, the best time to install a generator is BEFORE the storm, so don’t wait!