Last Updated on December 15, 2023 by Jason Nguyen
There is little thing you can do about a power outage if you haven’t prepared before the malfunction happens. This article will teach you how to make your home work autonomously and get ready for blackouts.
No Light! What to Check?
Various malfunctions can cause power outages. Some of them you can fix by yourself, some require professional help, and some can be fixed only at the municipal level.
- The first thing to do is to simply look in the window and check if other houses have light. If not, check the news to know the area of the blackout and its reason.
- Turn off all the devices and plug them off. When the power supply is restored, connecting too many applications at once can lead to overload and cause new troubles.
- Check the fuses and a circuit breaker. Blowing a fuse is a widespread cause of power outages in homes. Check if the circuit breaker in the fuse box is tripped, and reset the switch if needed. In other cases, you need to call an electrician.
Think of Insurance in Advance
Generators are intended to provide electricity on building sites and campings; they suit sourcing private houses as well. They are divided by a number of parameters, and wattage is a crucial one.
For example, 12,000-watt generators are powerful enough to run heavy applications like refrigerators, freezers, water or sump pumps, air-conditionerі, and furnaces. A tool with such wattage can fully cover the needs of a family for a decent period of time. Here is the table to clarify how many watts the most popular devices require:
- Refrigerator/Freezer – 700W;
- Electric stove – 1500W;
- Computer – 800W;
- Laptop – 300W;
- Washing machine – 500W;
- Light bulb – 60W;
- Mobile phone charger – 10W.
Runtime is another important feature to define if a particular generator is reliable and useful for long power outages. This parameter depends on the amount of fuel a generator consumes per minute, its wattage, and load. 8 hours is an optimal figure. Such models require minimum attention during the day and rarely waste fuel.
Reduce Damage
Power outages not only deprive you of usual comfort, but they also harm electrical devices. A generator will fulfill your everyday needs but can’t protect your applications. What is more important, using this machine is possible only outdoors.
An uninterruptible power supply is a device that can be installed in any location. This device provides emergency power when the main power source stops and solves several other problems. For example, it sustains overvoltage and offsets a momentary or sustained reduction in input voltage and instability of the main frequency.
Sensitive electronics like computers or TV can be connected to UPS, so you have enough time to turn them off properly. This machine’s minimal runtime lasts 5 minutes, but some models can run for about an hour, allowing users not only to prevent malfunctions but also to finish the job.
Power outages bring unpredictable harm to your devices. However, you can win some time to shut them down properly or even run all necessary applications independently if you live in a private house.
