Homes Plus
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HOMES PLUS MAY 2016 6 Visit-www.kcustomcabs.com Kitchen Cabinets New Construction & Remodeling Vanities Entertainment Centers Custom Built-ins kcustomcabs@gmail.com Brian Kehlnhofer, Owner 262.352.2177 250040002 BRIGHTER CONCEPTS www.BrighterConceptsLtd.com 414-332-8865 Offer Expires 5/30/2016. *Call for details. 2 5 0 0 0 7 0 0 1 30 80 150 Earth Day Special Exp. 5/31/16 "Quality Conscious, Customer Focused… Every Job, Every Day" 7945 Harwood Ave. ,Wauwatosa,WI 53213 Office: 414.988.4565 www.milestoneplumbinginc.com *Must mention this ad. Only valid for first time customers. No Trip Charge for First Time Customers * MP#998631 250040001 For All of Your Home Needs For All of Your Home Needs INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR PAINTING AND FINISHING HOME REMODELING CALL TODAY! 262-617-6988 250040003 Dear Jim: It's inconvenient when the electric goes off during storms. I want to get a generator. Is it expensive to operate a whole-house generator during outages? If not, why not always use one? — Cindy H. Dear Cindy: Many homeowners install large whole-house emergency backup gen- erators because most activities require electricity today. The problem is not from just storms. During the summertime with high air-conditioning loads, there some- times also are brownout (low voltage) on hot afternoons. Whenever there is an electricity outage or a brownout, a standby backup generator automatically starts producing electricity as soon as its engine gets started. The delay period is very short. It may run for several minutes to several days until the electrici- ty power is restored. Even using inexpensive natural gas, the cost to operate a generator is more than your current electric rate. Since it runs for a relatively short time, the operating cost is not significant. Running one continu- ously would wear it out because it is not designed for that and there are mainte- nance costs. When selecting a whole-house backup generator, determine what "whole-house" means to you. This impacts how large (out- put capacity) a unit you need. Having enough power for cooking, refrigeration, lighting, television and operating a fur- nace blower are typical essential needs. Electricity output from a generator is rated in KW (kilowatts). For a typical fami- ly of four, a 12-KW backup generator is ade- quate for most activities. By doing without some appliances and not trying to do use many simultaneously, you may get by with a smaller, less-expensive unit. To size your generator, make a list of the electric items you want to keep running. Check the wattage on each one and total them. Electric motors use more wattage briefly at startup, so add in a little extra. Since installing one is not a do-it-yourself project, contact an installer for sizing advice. Definitely install an ATS (automatic transfer switch) with your generator. This is more convenient for you and safe for the utility company repair workers. When the ATS senses a power outage or brownout, it disconnects your house from the electric grid and starts the generator. Another advantage of having an ATS is it starts and runs the generator periodically just to make sure everything is functioning properly for when it is needed. This is called JAMES DULLEY Why not always run whole-house generators? See DULLEY/Page 7