It has been nearly 20 years since hurricane force winds swept across Long Island.
Since that time, the trees have grown broad and tall and entwined themselves around the spiderweb of overhead power lines that bring electricity to a population that has mushroomed.
The thought of trees versus power lines keeps emergency managers on Long Island up at night. When a hurricane next strikes—it will happen and it is long overdue—torrential rains softening the ground around roots and high winds clawing at every inch of branch and leaves will bring down trees and, likely, the power lines with them. As a result, the more pessimistic of power officials say that even a moderately strong hurricane could leave parts of the East End without power for several weeks, possibly even months.
While the long drought of storms has left a population largely complacent, especially newcomers to the area who have never experienced the havoc of a hurricane, many homeowners have started adding their own power source—a generator—to their houses so that when the lights go out, they come back on promptly.
Options for back-up power are broad, depending on the demands of a home’s electrical needs and what level of normal life residents want to preserve during a power outage.
Generators come in basically two forms: portable and stand-by.
Portable generators are exactly what they sound like: generators on wheels, that can be put away and taken out when needed. For the owner of a small house who is not looking to get through every brief loss of juice in winter but wants to be protected from an extended outage in the event of a major disaster, portable generators are the most common choice.
Portables can cost as little as $1,500—for one that will keep a refrigerator running or any one appliance at a time—to $3,500 for one that will allow basic services in an average-size house.
According to John Fiory of One Source Tool in Southampton, the most common option for homeowners is a 6,500-watt generator. That wattage generator is quiet, portable and will keep a refrigerator, water pump, some basic lights, the television, and usually the hot water heater, running.
“A refrigerator is 2,300 watts, which is the thing most people are concerned about when the power goes out,” Mr. Fiory said. “A 6,500 will run that and the lights and a few other things.”
Houses with large water heaters, or whose owners want the full comfort of their home, from lights to air conditioning when the power is off, will need a larger generator.
Stand-by generators are bigger and more powerful but are a more permanent structure, for those who have the property space to hide them. They are mounted on a pad, usually beneath a steel box, next to the house and typically have an automatic transfer switch that turns them on when power is lost.
Installed stand-by generators can run from $5,000 for a 10-kilowatt (that’s 10,000 watts) unit to well over $100,000 for 200 kilowatt or larger units that allow even the largest estate property to operate all of its electrical systems when power is out.
“It depends on what you’re using and how much of your services you want powered if you lose electric,” said Steve Schaefer, operations manager at Ocean Electric, which installs stand-by generators. “We always start with a survey of the house to see what the power needs are and talk with the homeowner about what they want.”
Mr. Fiory warns homeowners with a do-it-yourself bent that even portable generators require a new electrical box and transfer switches to be installed by a professional electrician or they will burn out appliances, or themselves. Wiring for a portable generator is typically a few hundred dollars.
“People don’t do what I tell them—they just buy a generator and plug it in when the lights go out,” Mr. Fiory said. “Then they wonder why they’re burning everything out.”
27east on Jul 11, 2010