During hurricane season in Baton Rouge, LA, many homes can be left without power for hours, or even days, at a time. At Big Family, we want to help you prepare your home for any type of emergency that might knock out your electricity and leave you scrambling for solutions.
Having an emergency power generator is the best way to make your home ready for any crisis. However, finding the correct type of generator for your home can seem like a confusing process for many homeowners. If you’re looking for more information about what your home needs, our team at Big Family is here to help. We’ve lived in and served the Baton Rouge area for many years, and we understand what homes in this climate require, from properties near City Park Lake to neighborhoods further out toward Central and Zachary. We’re here to answer your questions about backup generators and help you find the right fit for your home.
How to Choose a Generator for Your Home
Choosing a generator involves a few key considerations. The first is whether a whole-house generator or a portable generator makes more sense for your household. Here’s an overview of the two most common types.
Portable Generators
Portable generators are smaller units capable of powering a limited number of devices for a short period of time. As the name suggests, they can be stored in a garage and brought out as needed. With a properly installed transfer switch, a portable generator can be connected to power select circuits when the electricity goes out.
Portable generators tend to be a good fit for households that only need to keep one or two essential appliances running during an outage. They’re also a more affordable option for homeowners looking for a minimal level of backup protection. Because a transfer switch connects directly to your home’s electrical panel, this is installation work that should always be handled by a licensed electrician rather than attempted as a homeowner project.
Whole House Generators
A whole-house generator, also called a standby generator, is a more comprehensive solution. Once installed, it activates automatically the moment the power goes out, without any action required from the homeowner. These systems are typically sized to keep an entire home running, from the refrigerator to the air conditioning.
Whole-house generators are available in capacities of 30,000 watts or more, and most run on natural gas or propane, allowing them to power a home for an extended period, even if utility restoration takes several days. For Baton Rouge families who want the peace of mind of keeping their entire home running through an extended outage, whole-house generator installation is generally the better long-term investment.
How to Decide on the Right Generator
Selecting the right generator comes down to a few key factors, and this is exactly the kind of assessment our team walks Baton Rouge homeowners through during a consultation.
What you want to power during an outage. Some households only want their most essential devices covered, while others want their home to run as close to normal as possible. Thinking through this list ahead of time helps determine the scope of system needed.
How long you need that support to last. Whether you’re planning for a few hours or an extended, multi-day outage affects the type and size of system that makes sense for your home.
The wattage your home will require. Calculating total load involves reviewing the power draw of each appliance and system you want to keep running. This is a step our electricians handle directly during a consultation, since an inaccurate estimate can lead to an undersized or oversized system.
Final system selection. Even with the right information in hand, choosing between generator models and configurations is where professional guidance matters most. Our team can walk through every step of this process with you, including calculating wattage needs, so you’re not left making this decision alone.
Our Whole House Generator Services at Big Family
Whether you’re considering a whole-house generator or a portable setup, you’ll want a company you can rely on for installation and ongoing service. At Big Family, we guide homeowners through the entire process, from helping determine the right type and size of generator to providing quality installation, repairs, and electrical panel evaluations to make sure your home’s existing system can support the new equipment. In many cases, we also recommend pairing generator installation with whole-house surge protection to help safeguard your home’s electronics during the power fluctuations that often come with storms and outages.
For more information on our emergency generator services in Baton Rouge and the surrounding areas, contact our team today to schedule a consultation with one of our professionals.