Understand what your family needs to keep powered, what your generator can safely support and how to prepare before an outage occurs.
When the power goes out, having a generator can provide important backup power for your household.
But owning a generator is only one part of being prepared.
Before severe weather or an unexpected outage occurs, your family should understand what needs to stay powered, what your generator can support and how you’ll use your backup power safely.
National Preparedness Month is a good opportunity to take a closer look at your household’s backup power plan before you need to put it into action.
Start With Your Family’s Essential Power Needs
During an extended outage, not everything in your home needs to operate as it normally would.
Start by identifying what matters most to your household.
Depending on your family’s needs, that could include:
- Refrigerators and freezers
- Essential lighting
- Phones and communication devices
- Internet equipment
- Medical or other power-dependent equipment
- Well pumps
- Sump pumps
- Heating or cooling equipment, where appropriate
Every household is different. A family with medical equipment, for example, may have very different priorities than another household.
Knowing those priorities before the outage can help you develop a more effective backup power plan.
Understand What Your Generator Can Support
Once you’ve identified your essentials, the next step is understanding the capabilities of your generator.
Generators have limits. Attempting to power more equipment than a generator is designed to support can overload the system.
Create a list of the equipment you expect to use during an outage and understand its power requirements. Your generator should be appropriately sized for the loads you intend to support.
If you’re unsure what your system can safely power, consult a qualified generator or electrical professional rather than waiting until an outage to find out.
Know How Your Generator Connects to Your Home
How backup power reaches your home’s electrical system matters, too.
A permanently installed standby generator typically uses properly installed transfer equipment to separate the home from utility power when the generator is operating.
For portable generators, never attempt to power your home’s electrical system by plugging the generator into a wall outlet. This practice—often called backfeeding—can create extremely dangerous electrical conditions.
If you plan to connect a generator to your home’s electrical system, work with a qualified electrician to ensure the appropriate transfer equipment is installed in accordance with applicable requirements.
Don’t Forget About Fuel
Backup power also requires thinking about how long you may need it.
For portable generators, consider fuel requirements and how fuel will be stored safely and in accordance with manufacturer instructions and local requirements.
For permanently installed generators, understand your fuel source and how an extended outage could affect your expected runtime.
The goal isn’t simply to prepare for the first few minutes without power. Consider what your household would need if an outage lasted several hours—or longer.
Maintain Your Generator Before You Need It
A generator that sits unused for much of the year still needs attention.
Review the manufacturer’s recommended maintenance schedule and make sure service is current before severe weather arrives.
Depending on your equipment, maintenance may include inspecting or servicing components such as:
- Batteries
- Oil and fluids
- Filters
- Electrical components
- Fuel systems
- Transfer equipment
GenServe’s commercial preventative maintenance programs similarly emphasize proactive inspections, operational testing, batteries, fluids, filters and electrical components because backup power reliability depends on the maintenance behind the equipment.
For your home generator, always follow the specific manufacturer’s maintenance requirements for your equipment.
Test Before the Forecast Changes
Don’t make an actual emergency the first time you’ve thought about operating your backup power.
For permanently installed systems, understand how your generator is exercised and tested according to manufacturer guidance.
For portable equipment, make sure the people who may need to use it understand the manufacturer’s operating and safety instructions.
You should also know where manuals and important service information are stored.
When the lights are already out, you don’t want to start searching for instructions.
Make Backup Power Part of Your Family Emergency Plan
The National Weather Service recommends knowing the hazards that could affect your area and having reliable ways to receive emergency information.
Your family’s backup power strategy should fit within that larger emergency plan.
Before an emergency:
Know your risks.
Understand the severe weather and other hazards that could affect your community.
Know your power priorities.
Identify what your household needs to keep operating.
Know your equipment.
Understand what your generator can support and how to use it safely.
Know your plan.
Make sure the appropriate family members know what to do when the power goes out.
Preparedness Starts Before the Power Goes Out
A generator can be an important part of household preparedness—but the generator itself isn’t the entire plan.
Knowing what your family needs to power, maintaining your equipment and understanding how you’ll use backup power can help you be better prepared when an outage occurs.
This National Preparedness Month, take the time to review your household’s backup power plan before the forecast changes.
For broader household emergency-planning guidance, visit Ready.gov’s National Preparedness Month resources and review EPA’s disaster preparedness and generator safety guidance.