Before we get into choosing a portable generator, let’s review exactly what a portable generator is, and what the standard uses for them are.

What is a portable generator? Typical portable generators are fueled by unleaded gasoline and have standard 120-volt power outlets like the outlets you have on the walls of your home.

What can portable generators be used for? Portable generators are extremely versatile and can be used for a wide variety of purposes. Among the most common uses of a portable generator are:

- Providing power for a home in an emergency

- Power in locations that do not have access to standard eletric outlets

- Recreational use, such as at campsites and in RVs.

How do I use a portable generator? When the generator is running, you simply plug in your tools or appliances into the 120-volt (standard) electric outlets. Some models of generators also have 240-volt outlets. 240-volt outlets are used for large appliances like clothes dryers.

Now, let’s talk about what to look for when choosing the right portable generator for you.

How high of a power capacity do I need?

Generators use two basic power measurements: peak power (sometimes referred to as startup power), and continuous power. Both kinds of power are measured in wattage.

- Peak power is the required wattage that appliances need at startup or when they are running at their highest power consumption levels.

- Continuous power is the required wattage to operate appliances under normal circumstances.

What are standby generators? Standby generators are generators that create anywhere from 5,000 to 25,000 watts of power (sometimes even more). You need to choose a generator that supplies enough peak power and continuous power for the appliances that you need to keep powered.

What are you going to use your generator for? For recreational use, A small 1,000-watt portable generator could be all you will need. If you need to power tools at a remote jobsite, you could require up to about 8,000 watts of power.

Another thing to consider is how many outlets you will need on your generator. Make sure there are enough outlets to power all of the appliances you will be using at one time.

The size of the fuel tank is another consideration and is very important. Depending on how long you will potentially need your portable generator to run, you may need a larger fuel tank. The larger the fuel tank, the longer your generator will be able to run without refueling.

Now that you know what to look for, you can compare different portable generators and find out which one will meet your needs. A good resource for your research can be found at this portable generator reference website.

David is a member of the staff of:
2Frog Reference

Do an energy audit

Challenges in maintaining a standard of living varies greatly around the world, it is impossible to provide the exact steps to reduce electricity consumption in each scenario. An energy audit will help you to recognize, however, when exactly is your power and how to reduce the use of IT.

Once you understand where our power is for the whole house is easy to recommend ways to reduce energy waste, which is usedCurrent that is used to do the same job that a lesser amount of electricity could be, while continuing to do the same comfort. This is an important point to understand, to save on electricity does not mean you have to live in a house in the cold dark to see significant energy savings and use that in most cases, significantly reducing energy at home the addition of some simple changes will have around the house.

So where do I start looking?

By far the largestthose that consume more energy to homes can be attributed to heating and cooling needs. Heaters and air conditioners have a high specific power and if used frequently during hot weather or cold, what the electricity bills may end up as a shock. Now you may be surprised to know that the location of some of these sources can be comforting enormous amounts of energy, while maintaining the same very comfortable. Here are some practical tips to consider:

Hanging sheets or curtainsin a room open, to keep heat in common areas

Add box valances tend to heat loss through poorly insulated windows, air movement past add insulation, carpets and double glazing to reduce heat transfer between the home and external environment to reduce

Wear appropriate clothing to improve human comfort in a less comfortable

Use localized heating during cold periods

Use local cooling or evaporative cooling in cold but dryclimate only some of these things are to be taken into consideration, but a detailed energy audit is the best heating and cooling practices locate your home to do.

Lighting

Although the power of lighting is a bit 'down, the lights tend to be used for long running times, so we can immediately see the long-term financial incentives to replace less efficient bulbs with more expensive, but less power hungry or fluorescent LED (Light EmittingDiode) bulbs.

Kettle If you are a heavy drinker of tea or coffee, costs can run on electricity bills as are users of large power boilers. A simple advice to help reduce electricity costs for the operation of a water heater is your cup with water and then pour into the pot before heating. In this way we know exactly how much water to a boil. Most people only think of a lot of water, which included 3 or 4 times that the hottest water that is actuallyconsumed. If you cook a few cups of water a day, this could easily change common save about 50 dollars a year on your electricity bill.

Refrigerators If you have an old refrigerator, it can have bad seals so that the cold air escapes. The refrigerator has a working extra hard to keep your food cold, and this may be the use of food to chew. A power meter can be made from work, as the efficient operation of the refrigerator and you may decide that a more energy efficient model can saveconsiderable money in the long run.

Computer and TV screens

Plasma screens are generally the largest energy users, such as LCD screens and LED screens less than LCD screens, but it seems significant changes in the market. If you have a lot of TV, or see you spend a lot of time surfing the Internet, the power consumption of the screen can be an important consideration.

Standby

Think of standby power as a dripping tap that we can not hear orbut gradually see your power. Many plug packs, chargers, stereos, washing machines, drawing, television, computers and a variety of other devices, the power, when they are both from, or there is nothing in them. This is called standby, and even small streams only accounts for a series of energy through the system, this is done consistently run 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, energy consumption so small, has increased considerably.

To combat the low standbyApplications can be:

Purchase switching power (lighter versions of heavy packages electromagnetic force)
Manual switch off appliances when not in use
The purchase of a Power Board, which automatically switches off power to devices when a device is turned off. This is useful when many individual components to run off the same socket as system.As stereo or computer is an example that I found the standby power consumption of my desktop computer at home and wants to leaveconnected for 10 years would cost more than electricity in the whole computer cost me to buy it first. Dragging my computer from the wall when not in use, I will gather some significant savings.

The calculation of costs for the operation of a device:

You can calculate how much an appliance by multiplying its power by the time he spent on the cost per unit of electricity. For example, if I have a 100 W light for 5 hours a nightElectricity costs 20c per unit (one unit = 1000W per hour). Then I will spend 365 x 5 x 0.1 x 0.2 = $ 36.50 per year in a row that light. Of course, these values ​​may differ between countries and regions, but gives us a rough idea of ​​costs.

If I have a light that cost $ 10 more, but consumes only 20W invested, I would save 80% off my electricity consumption for lighting. In the above case, I would like to start saving in a few months and more than 10 years I would save almost$ 300! In addition, some of the energy saving lamps much longer and therefore will reduce the time to replace the lamp and the cost position.

Develop the power consumption of devices:

Some devices on the label how much electricity they use to say. For example, a light could say 60W or 25W, etc. and a TV-200W or something like a kettle and I can say is 2400W. The calculation of the cost of operation of these devices is relatively easy since we simply believe that this power isconsistently used when the device is switched on.

Calculation of energy consumption for appliances sporadic use of electricity, such as refrigerators, washing machines, computers, etc., using a power meter, which adds all the power used for a long period of time. These inexpensive devices can be purchased for about $ 20 and are valuable for the operation of an energy audit at home, or at least the beginning of an idea of ​​how much power each appliance uses.

What to do:

Here wetouched some way, power is usually lost at home and in some practical steps to reduce energy bills sometimes frightening. To live is to live intelligently and with a sustainable approach, not only to significantly reduce carbon emissions and increase comfort, but it can also save considerable hard-earned money every time the electricity bill comes around. If you want to reduce the electricity bill, it's time to see where all your electricity is used, andTo make the changes necessary to reduce energy waste in your home. Do an energy audit can be a good way to find out exactly what works, and yet some simple calculations themselves and to make investments in energy efficient equipment or changing some simple habits could already see on the way to lower your energy bills electricity in the future.

If you have old dimmers with the turn knob on them, is it a good idea to replace them? Yes, it is a great idea. Actually, using dimmers are supposed to save energy. And it does not. On old dimmers, they increase the amperage and increase the resistance. That in turn will increase heat which makes more amperage on the circuit. So actually, resistance did not do anything but dim your lights a long time ago. But that was all it was supposed to do, dim you lights. Now, the new dimmers do more than that. They dim your lights, and they save you energy at the same time.

They do it through a different method of resistance using what they call an SCR, silicone-controlled rectifier. But it saves you energy, and in turn, saves you money. A silicone rectifier does not do the same thing as a resister. It cuts the voltage instead of resisting volts.

But the resister, or rheostat, depends on the load. Light bulbs are rated by wattage. Your dimmer is restricted by the wattage that it is rated for. There are dimmers in different sizes such as 600 watt, 1000 watt, and 1500 watt in commercial. Putting too many high wattage bulbs in a fixture will cause your dimmer to get hot. Some new dimmers are much more capable of saving energy than the old resistant type dimmers or rotary type dimmers. The costs for a new dimmer is higher but it will, over time, save you money.

I would like to invite you to visit http://www.energyconsciousconsultant.com to find out how Farbe’s Electric can give suggestions to reduce your energy costs to save money.