Backup Generator

[Jon1164]

Anyone have any idea of the cost of these, with all the power cuts lately an seriously thinking of them

 

[Thirsty]

Lidl / aldi often have them if you keep an eye out.

Not a fan personally, but can understand if there are medical issues & power loss is a major concern.

 

[SparkRite]

Depends what size you want/need.

A good start would be to do something like this:- 'Backup Generator'.

 

[Jon1164]

With the constant power cuts from storms I'm trying to do a bit of research on them, no fun with the well pump off for 3 days straight..

Don't be tempted ! If someone else reports this to Gardaí you might get the blame and unwanted attention.

Lidl / aldi often have them if you keep an eye out.

Not a fan personally, but can understand if there are medical issues & power loss is a major concern.

Depends what size you want/need.

A good start would be to do something like this:- 'Backup Generator'.

 

[Zenith63]

FWIW I had solar panels installed in January with a 5kWh battery. It has an Essential Loads output which you can plug stuff into (up to about 10A worth) when the power is off. You do need to plan in advance and set the battery to stay full when there’s a storm coming, but no rocket science in that.

I was able to power our gas heating boiler/pump, WiFi, broadband and PC for 24 hours or so... Not sure how long your typical power outages are though.

 

[Buddyboy]

I looked into this during Ophelia, as our power was out for 5 days.
I came to the conclusion that it's not viable. Any of the lidl/aldi/portable camping type ones have enough power output for a few lamps or small electrical devices, but nothing of use. e.g. water pump, fridge, oven, heating. They typically have 1.2kw max output.
For example, a large generator (around €600) will have a power output of 2.6kw. A 2 bar heater can use 1.6kw. A water pump 1kw, a fridge 1200 starting wattage.
Plus that added hassle of storing it, having fresh petrol. Making sure it will start when needed (easier said than done). Wiring into the appliances, how are you going to do it? And the possibility of spikes in the supply frying equipment.
Zenith63's idea of solar panels with a backup battery is viable, but at a large initial cost (he may correct me on that), but the advantage of having free power on tap after installation.

 

[Zenith63]

Zenith63's idea of solar panels with a backup battery is viable, but at a large initial cost (he may correct me on that), but the advantage of having free power on tap after installation.

You're looking at about €7k (after grant) for a decently sized solar array (say 5kW) and battery (5kWh is what I have, but of course you can go as big as you want). As you say though this will be paying itself off over time (10 years maybe) by generating some of your electricity, which offsets some of the cost difference to a generator.

Worth noting that the default setup is for the solar panels to be isolated when the mains electricity goes off, so even though you can use the battery to power stuff it will not be recharging from the panels. You'd need some extra equipment to allow the panels to operate when the mains is off to protect fire fighters...

 

[Jon1164]

Thanks for all the info, alot to think about..

 

[Hooverfish]

My husband is an electronics engineer, and good at comparative internet costs, and able to set up the weatherproof electrics switch, so that the generator can be plugged in to our mains system without any risk when the power comes back unexpectedly. In 2018, we bought a Briggs and Stratton Sprint 3200A Generator from Old Park Groundcare in Northern Ireland for £275 - they do deliver in the Republic about every 6 weeks or so if you can wait. We haven't had to use it yet - getting it out and setting it up in last week's deluge/powercut was less attractive than cooking dinner by LED battery lights. We agreed that we'd fire it up if no LX next morning but thanks to ESB we got the power back in 3 hours the same evening. I still think it was a good purchase. In our rural location in the 1990s, power cuts used to be bad and regular. They were almost non-existent for about 10 years in the 2000s but are now back as a regular feature, and if press is to be believed, likely to get worse in next few years.

 

[Jon1164]

My husband is an electronics engineer, and good at comparative internet costs, and able to set up the weatherproof electrics switch, so that the generator can be plugged in to our mains system without any risk when the power comes back unexpectedly. In 2018, we bought a Briggs and Stratton Sprint 3200A Generator from Old Park Groundcare in Northern Ireland for £275 - they do deliver in the Republic about every 6 weeks or so if you can wait. We haven't had to use it yet - getting it out and setting it up in last week's deluge/powercut was less attractive than cooking dinner by LED battery lights. We agreed that we'd fire it up if no LX next morning but thanks to ESB we got the power back in 3 hours the same evening. I still think it was a good purchase. In our rural location in the 1990s, power cuts used to be bad and regular. They were almost non-existent for about 10 years in the 2000s but are now back as a regular feature, and if press is to be believed, likely to get worse in next few years.

You're right, I think alot of rural dwellers will be investing in generators given the frequency of storms and the insuing powercuts that come with them.