Transfer of Power

A bright flash of lightning, a loud clap of thunder, then suddenly your home is plunged into total darkness. The electricity is out, the silence is deafening, and all you can do is sit and wait.

Sound familiar? Power outages are unavoidable and indiscriminate. Fortunately, in most cases, the electricity is restored in less than an hour. But if you live in an area where power outages occur often or if they last for prolonged periods, losing power is much more than just an occasional inconvenience.

An outage of more than a few hours can spoil refrigerated foods and cause frozen items to thaw. In a very short time, a house can become bitterly cold in winter and suffocatingly hot during during summer; both are potentially dangerous conditions for infants, the elderly, and the infirm. And for a household that relies on a well pump, a loss of electricity means no water for drinking, bathing, or flushing the toilet.

Perhaps the worst part is that a power outage leaves you feeling helpless and vulnerable, especially when it strikes at night. But there is a way to take charge of the situation and keep much of your home up and running until the power is restored. The most practical way to beat the blackout blues is to create your own power with a portable gasoline-fired generator. The next step is to hook the generator directly to the circuits in your home with an electrical-transfer switch.