Many homes in Western New York have generators to help them through power outages. Weather and grid failures have become increasing problems, and an effective generator can make it easy for a household to make it through an extended blackout in comfort and safety.
Even though generators do not run regularly—in fact, people hope they don’t have to use their generator—they still age and run down until they need a replacement. If you have a generator, you’ll want to get ahead of its eventual replacement, since you don’t want to find out you need a new generator when your current one completely fails. We’ve put together a list of six ways to tell it’s time for a new generator.
1. You have a portable generator, not a whole-house generator
Okay, this isn’t a generator replacement exactly, since portable generators aren’t “installations.” But if you only have a portable generator to meet your home’s needs in case of a power loss, we strongly recommend you call us to arrange for a whole-house standby generator. These generators are more reliable, provide greater power, last longer, and are also safer since they don’t discharge emissions inside the house.
2. Your home has greater electrical demands
Your family has grown, you’ve added on a new room, you’ve put in major new appliances … these are all reasons why your home’s electrical demands may have increased since you got your current generator. It may be time to upgrade to a generator that matches changes in your house.
3. Excessive repair needs
A generator is supposed to be trustworthy—it must work when you need it to, or what good is even having it? If you’ve encountered a recent run of repair calls for the generator or maintenance keeps turning up repair issues, then it may be time to invest in a new system you can rely on.
4. Wasteful operation
As a generator gets older, it will become less efficient. Maintenance will slow this down, but eventually age will catch up with the generator and it will start to consume more fuel to operate. Our maintenance technicians can help determine when a generator is turning into a fuel-waster.
5. A significant system failure
Did your generator fail on you the last time you needed it to run? Obviously, that’s not good, and it will make you less confident about the system’s future performance. If you’re worrying about your generator and power loss to the house, you’re missing out on one of the biggest benefits of having a generator in the first place.
6. It’s time for a technology upgrade
Is your generator more than ten years old? If so, even if it’s been working well and not running up repair costs, it may be ready to retire so you can take advantage of the newest in generator technology. For example, you may want to have an automatic standby generator that you don’t have to manually activate when the power goes out.
If you think you need to replace your old generator, or if you’d like a first generator installation in Buffalo, NY, call us and we’ll take you through the process. We’re proud to offer Kohler Generators for installation for our customers.
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