With the devastation of Hurricane Sandy a few weeks ago, the importance of having power in harsh and unpredictable weather circumstances hit home quite literally for millions. Since then, demand for generators has continued to skyrocket.
“Certainly, this is a storm that has been somewhat unprecedented,” said Art Aiello, public relations specialist for Generac Power Systems. Headquartered in Wisconsin, Generac began bringing generators to homeowners back in 1959.
“Certainly, this is a storm that has been somewhat unprecedented,” said Art Aiello, public relations specialist for Generac Power Systems. Headquartered in Wisconsin, Generac began bringing generators to homeowners back in 1959.
Photograph courtesy of Art Aiello
“For us, the demand began the Thursday before Sandy hit,” Aiello revealed. “We’ve been shipping products around the clock.”
Both permanently installed automatic home backup and portable generators continue to make their way to the regions blasted hard by this now historic natural disaster.
“We were running three shifts at the distribution center beginning the weekend before Sandy, shipping out tens of thousands of generators and dozens of truckloads a day to the East Coast,” he said. “Now we’re actually looking at hiring and bringing people on board to help us deal with the residual demand that’s following Hurricane Sandy.”
Generac’s 300,000-square-foot manufacturing facility and 200,000-square-foot distribution site are located in Whitewater, Wisconsin and have been bustling this November.
“A severe storm like Sandy increases awareness, but generators are valuable for consumers simply because there are power outages every day,” he added. “Electricity is really no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity. We’re a very connected society. Many people have cell phones as their primary phone and don’t have land lines anymore, so if they can’t charge their cell phones, there’s no way for them to reach out to their loved ones and friends.”
Those with medical equipment running on electricity, and medicines that need to be refrigerated, are another part of the population in a vulnerable situation when outages strike.
“There’s somewhat of a misconception about what’s available today,” Aiello said about the possibility of purchasing generators that are surprisingly affordable. “In terms of backup power systems, a lot of people don’t realize all the options that are out there.”
When deciding what size system to buy, Aiello recommended adding up watts of each item to be operated by the generator but also multiplying totals by 1.5 for those with motor start-ups, like refrigerators, to account for the extra power needed for that effort.
As a general guideline, Aiello also offered the formula “volts x amps = watts” in a case where watts aren’t already known with a certain appliance.
Through innovation in engineering, design, and efficiency, generator manufacturers can now offer variety in their product lineup; that means affordability is leaning more in favor of the common homeowner.
Many have learned firsthand just how crucial power is when outages stir through their communities not only from impacts like Hurricane Sandy but also the jarring ice storm that left many without electricity on Halloween in 2011.
The need to prepare for future electricity loss is real and something well worth considerable thought.
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