| Natural
gas generator
Natural
gas standby electric generators provide your home or business
with electricity when your utility power becomes interrupted
due to snow, ice or high winds. With a natural gas generator
installed, you will be able to keep your refrigerator freezer
running and not have to worry about losing your frozen foods.
If the electrical interruption occurs in winter, you will
be able to keep the blower on your gas furnace operating and
thus avoid frozen water lines. Even a small unit can help
by running an appliance or two along with a few lights.
It is
important to contact Columbia Gas before purchasing or installing
your standby generator. Call us at 1-800-440-6111 and
we will evaluate the size of the generator to ensure our existing
service line can support the additional load without making
changes to our facilities. In some cases, additional cost
may be involved to upgrade the existing service line and support
the standby generator load.
Efficiency
Natural gas generators cost 40-50 percent less per hour to
run than gasoline powered models. Natural gas powered generators
do not require any fuel to be stored at your home for their
operation. Natural gas is supplied to the equipment from the
house line that delivers gas to your furnace, water heater
and other gas appliances. Models are available in a variety
of sizes from 5 KW (KiloWatt) to 60 KW to match your electrical
load.
Features
- Automatic
start: Many models offer an option that senses
when a failure occurs in your electricity from your electric
supplier. The standby unit starts itself and begins giving
you electricity in 30-60 seconds. It then monitors the electricity
from the street and, when it senses that the power is restored,
shuts itself off.
- Exercise
timers: Many units offer timers that run the
unit 15-30 minutes each week. This keeps the starting battery
charged so it will be ready for use during an outage.
- Weatherproof
enclosure: The generator sits outside your home
in a painted, weatherproof enclosure like your air conditioning
unit. This cover protects the equipment from rain and snow.
- Since
the generator is installed on a concrete pad outside your
home, you always have the option of taking the unit with
you if you should move to a new home.
- Generator
engines are manufactured by companies such as Briggs &
Stratton, Kohler, Onan and Perkins. These are the same reliable
engines that power garden tractors and other devices.
- The
units require a minimum of maintenance. The oil, oil filter
and air filter should require changing only once per year.
- These
units can provide you with 120 volt and 240 volt service
at 30 amps, 60 amps, 125 amps or more.
- Natural
gas consumption for the generator varies from 110 cubic
feet per hour to 475 cubic feet per hour.
More
information
This
site has a list
of natural gas generator vendors that offer a variety
of products and information.
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