“What to look for when considering a home generator”. As a salesman of backup generators I am becoming accustomed to a common scenario that occurs when I am invited to a customer`s house  to discuss the installation of a generator, most everyone wants the largest generator available in hopes of being able to keep the entire home energized. However this is not the best way to approach the problem because the cost to purchase and operate generator is not economically feasible.

There is good news about today’s generators when it comes to sizing, in the past we would choose the electrical appliances that needed to be energized during an outage size the generator and install a breaker panel that would supply power to only the circuits chosen as necessary, non essential electrical circuits would drive up the size of the generator. Today we size generators by deciding what the demand would be for only the most important electrical components such as the furnace, well pump, sump pump, refrigeration and general lighting, once the basic demand is determined we install a transfer switch that will allow the entire home to be energized and utilize a new technology called load shedding that will not allow non critical electrical components such as pool pumps, spa heaters, A/C systems etc. to come on unless there is enough power available to do so. At RE Sanders we pride ourselves on the fact that we spend the necessary time with our customers to make sure all bases are covered when it comes to choosing the proper equipment if the lights go out.