Scherer Electric Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Whole-House Generator Installation’

Whole-House Generator Myths—And the Facts

Monday, March 27th, 2023
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There was once a time when the most common definition of the word myth was stories about ancient gods and heroes. Today, the common definition is anything that’s widely believed yet untrue.

There are whole shows, podcasts, video channels, and books based on breaking about the myths that circulate through our society and which the internet has only made harder to squash.

Are there myths about whole-house generators out there? You bet! 

We’re experts when it comes to whole-house generators, and we’d like to go through a few common myths about these devices and dispel them with the facts.

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When Should I Replace My Whole-House Generator?

Monday, October 10th, 2022
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A whole-house generator can be a literal life-saver for a home during an extended power outage. If you have a whole-house generator, you want to know that you can trust it to work when necessary.

Since no mechanical device can last forever, you might wonder when you’ll need to have your older generator replaced. This is tricky because you don’t use the generator often—in fact, you hope you don’t have to use it at all—and so it’s difficult to determine when it’s declining. 

We’ll look into the question of when to replace a whole-house generator, and when it’s better to arrange for generator repair in Clarence, NY with our electricians.

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What to Do in a Power Outage

Monday, September 12th, 2022
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We often talk about the importance of installing whole-house generators. There’s no better way to avoid the serious problems of an extended loss of power to your home than having a permanent backup generator to take over. With enough fuel (easy if your generator runs on natural gas), you can make it through many days without trouble keeping your family safe, your HVAC system running, your refrigerator working, and any vital medical equipment powered. 

But you may not have a generator (at least, not yet), and we have some recommendations on what to do in case your home suffers from an extended power outage.

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Tips to Reduce Energy Use to Avoid Power Outages This Summer

Monday, June 20th, 2022
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Western New York can suffer from long-term power outages and blackouts during the summer. This is a period when the strain on the electrical grid soars as people use air conditioning systems more. Unless a home has an electric water heater, the air conditioner is the appliance that consumes the most electricity. 

As electricians in Amherst, NY with a long history in the area, we know plenty about electrical use in summer. We want to help you reduce your summer electrical consumption so you can help the grid stay healthy for everyone and avoid outages and blackouts. 

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Top 5 Reasons to Install a Backup Generator

Monday, April 25th, 2022

We encourage many of our customers in Western New York to invest in backup generators for their homes. Power outages are becoming more common, and full blackouts—which may last for several days—are not only inconvenient for homes, they can be dangerous as well. Homes are at the highest risk of losing power during storms and heatwaves, the periods when you most want to have reliable electrical power moving through your house. 

If you want more convincing about why a backup generator in Buffalo, NY is a wise idea, below we’ve listed the best five reasons to call us about arranging for this service. We’ll see you have the right generator for your specific needs and we’ll have it installed and ready to go to work in only a short time.

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The Causes of Power Outages in Your Home

Monday, April 11th, 2022

Even with the best electrical grid available to provide power, power outages can still occur in homes. You’ve almost certainly experienced loss of electricity to at least one house you’ve lived in—maybe for a few hours, maybe for days. 

Although you can take steps to avoid losing power in your house because of malfunctions with your own electrical system, there are many external causes you cannot avoid. In these cases, your best tool is preparation, such as having a whole-house generator installed as a backup and having surge protection in place to prevent damage to appliances due to a catastrophic event (weather, downed power lines) creating an outage.

In this post, we’re going to explain in more depth the types of power outages and their sources. 

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How Long Can a Whole-House Generator Last?

Monday, December 6th, 2021
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A whole-house generator is a great investment for a home in Western New York. Extended power outages have become a more common problem in the last two decades, and a whole-house generator is your best defense against future ones. The right generator can help your family stay comfortable and safe in a well-lit house until the power comes back on. 

Whole-house generators aren’t magical devices, of course, so they can’t run forever. There are two ways of looking at the question in the title of this blog: “How long will a generator run when there’s a power outage?” and “How long will a generator installation last before it needs to be replaced?” We’ll look at both versions of the question so you know what to expect from a whole-house generator—whether you already own one or are considering getting one.

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Whole-House Generator vs. Portable Generator

Monday, September 27th, 2021

New York State got a bit … wet … this month. And whenever a major storm strikes the East Coast, it’s an important reminder of how easily whole neighborhoods can lose electrical power for long stretches of time. Western New York is at high risk for extended power losses, and this is something we at Scherer Electric want to protect our customers from. We install whole-house generators to help homeowners make it through a power outage of any kind in safety and comfort.

But when it comes to generators, we often hear people say something like this: “What about just using a portable generator in Buffalo, NY? Do I really need to go with a full whole-house generator installation?” 

Portable generators have their uses—such as on camping trips, or to keep in the car in case of emergencies. But if you want peace of mind about getting through an extended blackout in your house, a portable unit can’t hold up to a permanent standby generator. We’ll explain why.

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6 Ways to Tell You Need a New Generator

Thursday, May 20th, 2021
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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.

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A Power Outage! What Do You Do?

Monday, February 15th, 2021
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Winters in New York can be beautiful as long as you have a home with a good heating system, the right insulation, and a steady supply of electricity. But with our low temperatures, a sudden loss of electrical power to your house can mean a serious emergency. Storms, power plant accidents, power surges, even accidents within the home’s electrical system can leave you trapped without the electricity you need to get by. 

Our first message about power outages is not to panic. There are steps you can take, and in many cases a professional Angola, NY electrician can provide you with the help you need. Below are steps you can take when the power suddenly goes out in the winter.

ONE: Check on your electrical panel

It’s possible the reason that you’ve lost power to the house is that the main breaker in the electrical panel has tripped. Check the panel to see if all the breakers are in the “on” position. If they are, test the main breaker switch to see if this restores power. 

An important note of caution: an older breaker panel may be the source of the electrical failure, and we recommend calling us to investigate if the panel needs to be replaced. 

TWO: See if this is a municipal problem

In other words, go talk to your neighbors to discover if they also have lost electrical power. If this is the case, then you aren’t dealing with a specific problem in your home, but an issue with the municipal power supply. 

THREE: Call the power company

If you determined in step two that the issue is municipal, the next step is to call the power company to see the extent of the problem and how long you can expect for it to continue. In fact, the power company may not even know the problem has occurred, so you’re doing the community as well as your home a service by alerting them to the outage so they can take care of it.

FOUR: Unplug major appliances

Those appliances may not be receiving any power at the moment, but when power is restored it can bring with it a surge that can damage them. This is mainly a problem for precision electrical appliances such as computers, the microwave, and the entertainment system. 

FIVE: Don’t try to do any DIY stuff

If you suspect that you might be able to fix some of the electrical problems that caused the blackout, please resist. Electric services need to remain in the domain of professionals. Once the power is restored, you’ll have an idea of what needs repairs, and you can call our team to handle them. Otherwise, please leave the tools alone. You might make a mistake, and when the power does come back on, it could create a major hazard.

SIX: Think about getting a generator

This isn’t so much a step as it is an important moment for reflection. If you have a whole-house backup generator, you wouldn’t be in this emergency situation right now. We recommend you call us once the power is restored to schedule an installation for a whole-house generator—one of the best “insurance policies” you can have against this problem occurring again. 

Scherer Electric is Western New York’s Favorite Electrician! Call us for 24/7 emergency service when you have electrical problems.

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