There you are enjoying the excitement of the game with only three minutes remaining in the second overtime period. All of a sudden, the screen goes dark and you’re just about to scream obscenities at the cable company.

Suddenly, you realize all of your power is down and you’re stuck with no backup generators for the home. In your mind pops a flashback of several months ago when something similar happened. But, that time you weren’t in the middle of a championship bowl game.

As we know, power outages are all too common. Some areas of the country are more prone than others and, unfortunately, too often these occur as a result of a tragic storm with death rendering violence.

Home emergency generators don’t have to be prohibitively expensive. Like most things, you get what you pay for. Go to the Amazon website and type in the phrase home generators in the home and garden section. Notice that prices range from about $360 for a ETQ TG32P12 4000 Watt 7 HP 207cc 4-Cycle OHV Gas Powered Portable Generator (Non-CARB Compliant) all the way up to $5,000 for a Briggs & Stratton 40305 20000-Watt IntelliGen Air Cooled Home Standby Generator.

Before you buy a home backup generator, spend some time with your family to discuss exactly how much electrical power you would require in case of a prolonged utility power outage. More than likely, each family member will have his or her own ideas about what is absolutely necessary to keep their standard of living intact.

Keep in mind that you can rotate the use of your power generator by running one appliance for a period of time and, then, substituting another. For example, it’s likely that your refrigerator wouldn’t necessarily require constant power on for the food to be adequately preserved.

One common mistake in measuring wattage requirements is to forget or fail to understand that some equipment such as central air conditioning and heat pumps create an extraordinary surge in power during start-up. Without proper planning this can create havoc with your backup power system.

There are basically two types of emergency generators for the home. The standby generator is permanently installed outside your home and has the distinct advantage of powering up automatically within 10 to 20 seconds after your utility power source goes down. It is correctly referred to as a home backup generator.

The portable generator is typically mounted on a moveable platform and is stored away when not in use. When needed it is pushed or pulled into position no closer than 15 feet from your home. This is to protect residents from the lethal danger of carbon monoxide.

Portable units connect to your appliances by using multiple extension cords. Standby systems are hardwired to your circuit breaker and will automatically begin to function when activated. Obviously, this is a major benefit.

One way to eliminate the cumbersome use of extension cords is to install a generator transfer switch to the circuit breaker and then the individual appliances can be connected without the cords. The added cost of doing this can ultimately provide considerable ease of use when the time comes to generate your backup power.