Regardless of where you live, it is vital to have an alternative source of power.

For most, power outages are short in duration, but with an aging power grid, we all could face longer and longer power outages due to natural or man made events.

Having an alternative source of power can make those periods tolerable, but in some cases, it can be a life saver.

After storm Sandy hit the east coast, it took over a week to get parts of Long Island back in operation. The bigger the outage, the longer repairs are likely to take.
There are many ways from to keep the power flowing when the rest of the neighborhood is dark.

Emergency Power Option #1 – Gasoline Generator

The simplest emergency electrical option is to get a small generator and a large can of gasoline. Long extension cords can be run to vital items like refrigerator, freezer and microwave. Appliances are easy to power from a generator; they have cords attached. Powering something like your furnace is more difficult. You would have to open the wiring junction box and splice in a cord end. This is easy for an electrician to “jerry-rig” it but not for the average homeowner.

If you plan ahead, you can have a transfer switch installed next to your existing electrical panel. With this transfer switch installed, you can run a larger cord from the generator to a dedicated receptacle that feeds a small “critical loads” sub-panel. For the most part, a generator doesn’t need to back-up your entire house, just vital items. The transfer switch prevents you from back-feeding the utility grid (see “Solar Electric Basics” for more information on this danger) by isolating your generator from the main panel. (Editor’s note: Top photo in the post is our generator “dog house”, which is hard wired into our home power system. Photos below show primary and secondary breaker boxes in our home.)

Gasoline Generator Pros:
• power when you need it
• portability
• relatively inexpensive

Gasoline Generator Cons:
• noisy
• need refueling
• smelly exhaust
• fixed power capacity

A generator has a rated power output listen in watts or kilowatts. They can also produce small bursts of power needed for motors starting, but then go back to their rated amount. If you aren’t using much power, the generator still is running, wasting energy. A small generator can cost a few hundred dollars to upwards of two thousand.

Given all the major weather events as well as a grid almost everyone says is old and vulnerable, having a source of alternative power to keep your home running is critical.

If you do not have an alternative source, you not only could be very uncomfortable, you could in extreme weather be putting yourself in danger and even in warmer climates, no power means potential food waste a frozen and refrigerated food spoils.

To read up on other alternatives of essential power, please visit Common Sense Homesteading.