The Power Outage Checklist: What to Do Before, During and After
A practical outage plan covering water, food safety, heat, medical devices and the mistakes people make on day three.
Guides to generators and backup power
Written for homeowners rather than for search engines. Every article cites its sources, and none of them will tell you the answer is whichever unit is on sale this week.
Solar Generators and Home Battery Backup, Explained in Watt-Hours
What a battery power station can and cannot do, how to convert your appliance list into watt-hours, and how long solar really takes to refill one.
Quiet Generators: What the Decibel Rating on the Box Actually Means
Why 52 dB and 76 dB are further apart than they look, how measurement distance changes the number, and what campgrounds and HOAs enforce.
Well Pumps, Furnaces and Sump Pumps: The Loads That Break Generators
Why the three appliances you most need during an outage are also the three hardest to start, and what to do about it.
What a Standby Generator Really Costs to Install
A line-by-line breakdown of where the money goes, why quotes vary so much, and the eight questions that make bids comparable.
The Generator Maintenance Schedule That Prevents the 3 a.m. No-Start
Monthly, seasonal and annual tasks for portable and standby units, plus the storage routine that stops carburettors gumming up.
Gasoline, Propane, Diesel or Natural Gas: Choosing Generator Fuel
Shelf life, energy density, cold weather behaviour and what happens to each fuel supply during the disaster you bought the generator for.
Carbon Monoxide and Generators: The Rules That Actually Keep People Alive
Where to put the generator, why an open garage door is not ventilation, and what a CO shutoff sensor does and does not protect you from.
Transfer Switches and Interlock Kits: How Power Legally Gets Into Your House
Manual switches, interlock kits and automatic transfer switches compared, plus why backfeeding through a dryer outlet can kill a lineworker.
Standby, Portable, Inverter or Battery: Which Backup Power Fits Your House
Four categories, four very different price tags and installation stories. Here is how to tell which one your outage pattern actually calls for.
How to Size a Generator for Your Home (Without Overbuying)
Running watts, starting watts and the load math that decides whether you need a 5 kW portable or a 22 kW standby unit.