August 13, 2020 – Home Owners, Safety
Power outages are an expected, seasonal occurrence throughout many parts of the US. Electric companies’ guesstimated one-day outage can end up a one-week nightmare or longer.
Luckily, standby propane generators can guard you and your family against power outages, but they do require propane to perform and some preparedness on your part.
Here we’ll discuss how you can manage your propane supply and best avoid getting stuck without propane, especially when faced with a lengthy power outage.
There are two critical elements in managing your generator and propane usage:
First, your generator has a finite fuel source, limited by your propane tank’s size. The larger the tank, the more propane it can store.
Second, your generator’s fuel expenditure depends on your home’s power demands — higher power demand means increased fuel consumption. Not enough propane to meet fuel demand over the length of time required will ensure your generator runs out before power is restored.
The chances are that many others are in the same position as you, so it’s not always possible to call your propane company for last-minute delivery. Be forewarned that both during and after a storm, it may take several days for you to receive a delivery. Drivers often come against downed electric lines and trees along with increased customer demand, making it unsafe or impossible to reach you.
To best manage your generator’s propane, be prepared before a storm event occurs, armed with a full tank of propane. Then when the power goes out, try only using essential appliances and decrease or avoid using nonessential devices altogether.
For example, turn off lights and equipment not immediately in use, consider using your microwave instead of the oven, and adjust the thermostat on your heating and cooling systems.
If the weather is mild, you might be able to avoid using heat or the air conditioner altogether. You can also conserve energy by ensuring to run a full load of laundry in cold or warm water, not hot.
Conservation measures like these help reduce your overall propane consumption, so you have more in reserve.
If you believe the measures above won’t help you last through the outage, consider turning your generator off for a while, always following the instructions on your generator’s manual before turning your generator off and back on.
If you don’t need power during the day and the weather is mild, you can turn off your generator for a while, then turn it back on later in the day to power essentials like a refrigerator. Or, turn your generator off at night and start it up in the morning. Ideally, you will manage your propane, so it lasts through the outage or until you can receive a propane delivery.
At Paraco, we know propane and propane-powered appliances better than anyone, anywhere. Stay safe and prepared!
Click here for more on weather safety and preparedness, or contact us any day, any time, all year for everything propane.
Thanks for information
I wish had known that earlier today
If I want a backup generator for my house when I have an outage and I unplug everything but a light and the furnace, will I save money rather than having the whole house lit up? Will I be saving fuel?
Hi Wilson! The higher the demand placed on the generator the more fuel that the generator uses. During long outages, you can conserve fuel by only using essential electrical appliances as much as possible.