Thursday, June 21, 2012

Home Generator Safety Tips


Home generators can be a real lifesaver during bad weather, keeping your home or business running regardless of what’s happening outside. I’ve compiled some generator safety tips to help you use your new generator efficiently and carefully!

Don’t Use a Generator Indoors
Generators contain internal combustion engines that emit carbon monoxide, a deadly gas with no smell or color that easily floods indoor spaces. Run your generator outside—not even in your garage or shed—in a well-ventilated, dry area. And keep it away from home ventilation! You don’t want your generator’s exhaust fumes coming into your house.

Don’t Connect Your Home Generator Directly to Your Wiring
Called “backfeed,” a generator can send power into the lines connected to your home, damaging utility equipment and even risking electrocuting energy works miles and miles away.

Newer generator models can be installed with a switch that automatically disconnects your house from the power grid when your generator is running. More sophisticated models like GE’s come with automatic transfer switches that detect power outages and help prioritize sending power to appliances.

Don’t Overload Your Generator
Picking the right sized generator and not overloading it with too many appliances is really important. On my other blog, Home Generator Source, I talk about picking the right size generator—check it out! Too many appliances with too high of wattage on your generator can cause fires in the power cord, broken appliances, and other dangerous, expensive household issues.

For more on picking the best standby generator for your house check out GE Home Generators’s interactive Generator Sizing Guide or Home Depot's Sizing Guide.

Store Generator Fuel Outside
Keep gas for your generator in an appropriate, non-glass container and far, far away from water heaters or anything else with a pilot light! Heavier than air, gasoline vapor can ignite with the slightest spark and cause major damage to garages, sheds, and more. Don’t smoke nearby and keep a fire extinguisher close too!

Looking for a faster read than this? Briggs & Stratton has a quick and dirty list of generator safety tips!

17 comments:

  1. Well the first tip is right but what do i do if my home is not big:)?
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  2. It is pretty basic stuff but off course very important. You must know these points. No short cut.

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  3. Hi there! great stuff, Thanks for sharing a very interesting and informative content, it helps me a lot, keep it up!
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  4. This is very good information.i think it's useful advice. really nice blog. keep it up!!!

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  5. Hi there! glad to drop by your page and found these very interesting and informative stuff. Thanks for sharing, keep it up!

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  6. This article helps me a lot. I've been thinking about getting a generator from Power Performance Industries, for my house and this helps me know what to think about before having it installed. I'll definitely take these into consideration when buying a generator. Thank you for sharing this.
    -Seamus

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  7. This is such a smart investment. I really want to get a generator for my home. That will be a perfect way to keep my home safe during a blackout. http://www.southernrewind.com/generators.html

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  8. Thanks for all the safety tips. I'm a little bit new to the whole generator thing, and I kind of want to steer clear of any accidents. Thanks for mentioning to not run it in the garage. That's something I would have done. http://www.hipowersystems.com/Oil-and-Gas/4/natural_gas_generators/13

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  9. I have been looking at getting a generator for my home for a little while now, but I have been a little lost since I don't know much about generators. Making sure that you use a generator outdoors and storing the fuel outside makes sense to me. I think the hardest part for me would be figuring out how I am supposed to hook it up to the house without causing problems.
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  10. Hi, thank you for sharing this tips, I will use this as my reference to install the Generator at home. thanks

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  11. I want to get a generator for my home soon. It would be very nice to have on hand. I do want to make sure I am safe with it though. It sounds like there are a lot of things to keep in mind.
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  12. One thing that I've been looking into getting lately is a generator for my home. Like you said at the start of your post, they come in handy when bad weather comes and they can keep your home safe and running. I wasn't sure what risks they would pose though, so I thought I would get further insights on what those risks could be. This helped me out a ton, and I feel a little bit more prepared for when I get one.

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  13. I am going to be having a family gathering soon. It won't be taking place at my home since we cannot accommodate all of the people showing up. I am going to be having it at a local park. I might have to get a standby generator for the lights and other accessories I'm going to bring. Where would be a place to get one of those generators? http://www.originaldonnelly.com/generators/

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