Home Standby & Commercial Generators Have Become Extremely Hot Ticket Items Over the Last Ten Years.
Home and business owners have felt the high costs of losing power during crucial times, resulting in lost revenue and interruption of everyday routine. Although purchasing and installing a generator is a great first step into ensuring that the power will stay on, it is not the last, as generators are mechanical equipment that require preventative maintenance and on occasion corrective maintenance.
At first look, choosing a service provider for your generator can seem very overwhelming. Every time there is a major storm there appear to be ten new companies on the tail of it that now offer generator service!
Criteria to Consider:
- Is the company servicing my generator a generator company or company that offers generator service? This is important. Are you getting a factory-certified generator technician to work on your unit, or jack of all trades handyman that will service your water system, furnace, A/C, and generator all within 45 minutes and be done?
- Does the company you have entrusted with your generators care offer 24/7 emergency service and have parts on hand to make emergency repairs?
- Does the company you are considering offer Fleet wide generator monitoring as a service?
- Can the company you have chosen complete warranty work on your generator?
How Often Should I Have My Generator Serviced?
Generators in Upstate New York should be serviced at a minimum of once a year due to the changing temperatures of the four seasons that we experience. This is true whether you have experienced a significant power outage or not during the year. As temperatures change throughout the seasons it allows condensation to accumulate throughout your generator system. Having your system serviced each year is a great way to get all the remnants of moisture removed each year. A typical service will change all engine fluids, filters, and spark plugs, as well accomplish testing on batteries, control systems, and full system capabilities.
Enroll in a Fleet Monitoring System
Having your generator enrolled in a Fleet monitoring system is a huge asset for helping to alleviate any generator downtime. At IPSI, each of our generators will perform a self-test/diagnostic on a weekly basis. Typically, if there is an issue with a system it will manifest itself on that diagnostic. With the Fleet monitoring system in place, it allows us to see those potential issues in non-emergency situations and rectify them before they become an emergency. As a homeowner and end-user this service minimizes or eliminates any downtime that you may have experienced not having a monitoring system. Monitoring systems are available to work both through your internet service or an independent 4G LTE Cellular option.
In Conclusion
If you think about what we ask our generators to do, it is quite amazing. Our expectation is that these units sit outside all year long exposed to the elements. When utility power fails it is expected that the generator turns on and powers the house with-in 15 – 25 seconds no matter what the temperature or conditions are outside. That is an incredible ask, and I am proud to say in the 15 years of running IPSI we have seen less than a 1% failure rate amongst our preventive maintenance customers.
The reality is that the better care you put into your generator, the more reliable it will be for you!