This situation or one like it might have happened to you. You’re using your laptop at night in your room with the lights on when suddenly, everything goes black and your laptop, which was plugged in and charging on its last leg, suddenly turns off. You figure your electricity must be out. After checking your fuse box, you realize it’s not because of any of your fuses. Instead, electricity is out for the whole neighborhood.
It’s in situations like these that having an emergency backup generator would be nice. But what even is a backup generator? The article below explains what a backup generator is and how it works. The situations in which you would need a backup generator are also explained.
What is an Emergency Backup Generator?
An emergency backup generator is a machine that provides power to a house when the electricity goes out. While typical electrical lines provide power to houses endlessly, a backup generator will store a certain amount of energy.
It’s basically like a big battery that can power your whole house. While you can get portable backup generators, most nowadays are larger and permanently installed. Most generators are made up of a frame, rotating shaft, bearings, field windings, armature, stator, commutator, and a brush assembly.
The frame holds all of the components together while the rotating shaft works with a propeller to produce energy. The armature, which is turned by the propeller, creates electromagnetic induction by spinning within the stator while the bearings work to reduce friction produced by the spinning.
The electric current flows through the field windings and is stored in the commutator and then sent out through the brush assembly. Most backup generators also have a sensor that can detect when your usual power supply is off and signals the backup to turn on.
Dealing With Electricity Issues
There are a fair number of normal situations that can result in a loss of power. Blackouts occur regularly when the power company has a higher demand for power than is available to its customers, resulting in a loss of power to everyone. Also, older power lines that have become worn out due to weather exposure and other natural phenomena are prone to cause system failures.
Some places are prone to car accidents and if a car hits a powerline pole, you’ll be out of electricity. It’s for such situations that having an emergency backup generator would be helpful. That way you aren’t incapacitated while waiting for an electrician to fix the problem.
Protecting Your Home During Natural Disasters
While electricity can go out on its own, there are also many natural disasters on Earth that will take out your electricity. Wind and lightning are natural phenomena that occur in most places across the country that will take out your power. Not so common are earthquakes and storms, such as blizzards or hurricanes.
Earthquakes, floods, and tornadoes will also take out your power lines. While the weather could take out your power, small animals that climb up onto the utility poles account for a surprising number of power outages. In such situations, having an emergency backup generator can become a matter of life or death.