Portable Generator
A wheeled gasoline (or dual-fuel) generator in the 3 – 12 kW range that you start manually during an outage. Safe home connection requires an inlet box with a transfer switch or interlock, never a cord through the window.
Portables are the budget path to outage coverage: a 7,500 – 9,500-watt unit can run a home's essentials if the connection is done right. "Right" means a professionally installed inlet box feeding the panel through a manual transfer switch or interlock kit, so the generator can never backfeed the utility lines. The infamous shortcut, a double-male "suicide cord" into a dryer outlet, can kill the lineman working your street and is illegal everywhere.
The other non-negotiable is placement: portables produce lethal carbon monoxide and belong 20+ feet from the house, exhaust pointed away, never in garages even with the door open. CO deaths spike after every major storm. Newer units with CO auto-shutoff sensors are worth the premium.
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- Inverter Generator : A generator that produces clean, electronics-safe power by converting its raw output through an inverter, throttling its engine to match the load.
- Load Shedding (Load Management) : Automatically dropping or delaying big loads (AC, water heater, EV charger) so a smaller generator, or a smaller electrical service, can handle a home that would otherwise overload it.
- Home Battery Backup : Wall-mounted battery systems (Tesla Powerwall, Enphase, FranklinWH) that back up the home instantly and silently, recharged by solar or the grid: the generator alternative with no fuel and no noise.