Backup Generators Can Give Your House a Boost​

Backup Generators Can Give Your House a Boost​

Backup Generators Can Give Your House a Boost​ Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. × Search search POPULAR SEARCHES SUGGESTED LINKS Join AARP for just $9 per year when you sign up for a 5-year term. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Leaving AARP.org Website You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply.

Backup Generators Can Give Your House Some Juice

As severe weather creates outages alternative power providers are the hot new home accessory

JodiJacobson/Getty Images Kenny Marshall lives in the suburbs of Los Angeles, where 100-plus-degree summer days have at times brought on rolling blackouts. As people crank their AC, power lines can overheat from the added demand for electricity and must be shut down temporarily to prevent catastrophic fires. “Last year we were without power for three days in 117-degree heat,” ​Marshall says. “You cannot survive here without air-conditioning.”
Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. This February, in Austin, Texas, Joe Rizzo experienced a polar opposite (pun intended) problem: led to power outages for 3 million Texans. “We had elderly people stuck in their homes for up to a week, with indoor temperatures below freezing,” he says. Marshall and Rizzo are in the generator business (they’re the owners of All American Generators and Capital Power Systems, respectively). It’s a booming industry across the country as homeowners seek a way to keep the power on in an era of . One major producer, Generac, reported that sales of residential generators nearly doubled in the first half of 2021, compared with the same period in 2020. Generators will keep your home running when the power grid can’t, but they can be a major investment. Here are a few pro tips.

How They Work

Standby generators connect to the utility grid through a switch that kicks on when the grid goes down — “within 10 seconds,” Marshall says — and use the home’s gas supply (whether propane or natural gas) to fuel the generator and create electricity. Generators are typically housed in a metal box in the yard, with underground connections to the gas and electrical lines that must be installed by licensed professionals . Permits from local authorities are typically required. Entertainment $3 off popcorn and soft drink combos See more Entertainment offers >

Worth the Expense

If you are hoping to make your money back on a whole-home backup generator when you sell your house, don’t count on it. The equipment will increase the value of your home, but on average by only a little over 50 percent of the cost of the generator, according to a 2017 study published by Remodeling , a trade magazine. AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Health & Wellness offers > See more Flights & Vacation Packages offers > See more Finances offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS
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