April 2004

Power Up Your Generator

with Natural Gas

Did you know that you could fuel your electric generator with natural gas? It's true. When your power goes out, you have the source to provide a constant supply of energy for days or even weeks.

 

Natural gas can only supply permanent standby generators, not portable generators. What's the difference? Permanent generators are installed in homes and businesses while portable generators can only supply a few devices at a time.

 

Permanent generators can be run by diesel, propane or natural gas. In your case, natural gas is a great choice for your generator's fuel supply.

 

Several advantages go along with using natural gas as a fuel source. Most importantly, it's reliable. During long power outages, you can count on natural gas to power up your electric generator with a continuous supply of fuel.

 

You don't have to worry about re-fueling your generator in the middle of the night, in the rain or during cold weather. There's a constant supply as long as you have a natural gas connection into your generator.

 

Another advantage to using natural gas is that it's clean burning. Also, most permanent generators have noise reduction measures to make a quiet operation that won't interrupt your daily activities.

 

If you have a permanent generator installed at your home or business fueled by natural gas, the generator will automatically switch on to restore power when there's an outage.

 

Make sure you also install a transfer switch according to the electrical code. Remember that your generator is designed to bring electricity into your home, but electricity can flow out of your home from your generator as well.

 

Electricity flowing back into the electric lines can electrocute line technicians who are working to get the power back on. The situation becomes dangerous when the line technician doesn't know an electric line is hot because it's receiving electricity from a generator without a transfer switch. The transfer switch allows the electricity to flow only to your home and not back onto the electric lines.

 

Not all Georgians have the advantage of using natural gas for their generators. This is another way you benefit from using natural gas. Find more information on-line at permanent generator manufacturers' websites.

 

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