Be prepared for this year’s hurricane season.

June 1 is the official start of hurricane season. Forecasters predict higher than normal activity and are helping local emergency managers prepare for a hurricane season that may be complicated by coronavirus. The need to prepare is more important than ever.

Now more than ever, people are reliant on electricity to power their homes. Many have been working from home and have children doing schoolwork at home. Should the power go out, the disruption is more than an inconvenience, it can be a loss of money or falling behind on schoolwork.

If you or someone you love has special medical needs requiring critical medical devices such as

CPAP machines, oxygen machines, and even feeding machines, having a disruption in power puts them at risk for harm.

In times like these, one of the reasons homeowners decide to purchase standby generators is for peace of mind. For those who work from home or run a business out of their home, investing in a standby generator will safeguard your income and your business from costly power outages.

Everyone relies on power in so many ways throughout the day. In the case of an outage, you’ll very quickly miss your air conditioning along with many appliances, TVs, lighting, computers, cell phone chargers, security systems and more.

At one time or another, nearly everyone has had to get out the flashlights and pack up coolers with food to prevent spoilage.

With a backup generator, those hassles are gone forever.

As soon as a power outage occurs, a standby backup generator automatically turns on and keeps your home’s systems operating.

Another reason that homeowners decide to install a backup generator is to protect their family’s comfort. No one likes to be without power. That’s universal.

The peace of mind a generator provides has been described as “indescribable.” Unlike some home improvement projects, a backup generator increases the resale value of a home.

Standby generators permanently attach to a home, similar to the placement of an outside central air-conditioning unit.

The generator runs on propane or natural gas and turns on automatically when power is lost. Whether you are at home or away, your property will be protected from an outage.

Some standby generators can be operated remotely from a smartphone, allowing you to view real-time power status, manage your entire system and receive instant generator updates. A licensed electrician and plumber will be required for the installation.

Local regulations can impact the placement and availability of service on the property.

Sizing a generator correctly is extremely important. Since you never know when an outage may occur, you need to allow for any automatic loads such as a central A/C unit or large appliances like a dryer.

A proper load analysis would determine the safest, most appropriate size.