Emergency standby generators can supply electricity to the majority of your house, not just to a few selected circuits. The all-weather generators are installed outside and are wired through an automatic transfer switch to the main electrical panel. These units run on natural gas or diesel. Some systems can even be connected to a home’s natural gas line, eliminating the need to fill fuel tanks.

When the power goes out, there’s a slight delay of a few seconds, then the generator automatically kicks in – whether you’re home or not – and continues running until power is restored, when it will automatically shut off. If you have critical applications such as life support equipment, computers or similar systems, you can install a UPS (uninterruptible power supply, a battery in a special box), and there will be no interruption of power to these devices while the generator starts up.