standby power
In many situations you may be able to stay in your home during a disaster. In fact, it may be the best place to be — provided you have electricity. And if you have a small business, a power outage may be the time when your customers need you the most.
A standby generator can make a critical difference by enabling you to stay in your home or to stay open for business. Selecting the right system for your situation involves several considerations, such as the fuel to be used and the generator size. The links below help you make the right decisions. In either case, a standby power system could be essential. Learn More
The importance of standby power for natural disasters
maintenance & sufficient fuel
Be prepared with good maintenance and sufficient fuel for standby power systems. Learn More
home or a small business
Learn what size generator you need for your home or a small business. Learn More
Natural or man made disasters can cause power outages that affect your family or business so the Boy Scout motto should be yours: Be Prepared. We have assembled some eye-opening stats about the severity of natural disasters as well as the cost of power outages related to them. There are useful links to reputable sources of information about making contingency plans and getting the right equipment. There is a link to real-time feeds about disasters as they are happening. And there is a page devoted to standby generators — what you need to know about them to help you stay safe and comfortable when the power goes out.
historical analysis
124%
Increase in blackouts over the past 15 years, effecting 50,000 consumers or more
annual loss
$80 Billion
are estimated lost annually across business sectors due to power loss
per day
$12,500
the median cost of downtime for a small business in the united states
damage path
50 Miles
long and 1 mile wide
fujita scale
tornados per year
1,068
tornado alley
power (horsepower)
187,667
That is the equivalent of 750 average pickup trucks
saffir-simpson scale
gallons of rain per day
that is the equivalent of 28,571 oil tankers of water per day
frequency & size
10 must-haves for a disaster kit
- Personal Identification
- Water – 1 gallon/person/day
- Granola bars
- Canned food
- Battery or crank radio
- Flashlight
- First aid kit
- Blankets
- Cell phone
- Personal hygiene items
required conditions
Snow
precipitation falling for at least 3 hours
required conditions
35+
wind speed (mph)
ice accumulation
1/4 Inch
ice on power lines equals 500 lbs
annually
100
blizzards occur on average each year in the united states
record conditions
115”
in syracuse, new york (based on cities with a population of 50,000+)
energy compared to tnt (tons)
6 Million
is the equivalent of a magnitude 8 earthquake
Frequency
Alaska &
California
have the most earthquakes in the united states while Florida and north dakota have the fewest
magnitude & annual average
required conditions
5 Days
consecutive days
required conditions
9°F+
exceeds the average maximum temperature
july 2011
24 States
141,000,000 people were affected by a heat advisory
cause
High
Pressure
moves into an area, air is pulled toward the ground where it becomes compressed
longest continuous
101 Days
of continuous heat wave conditions in yuma, arizona over 100°F in 1937
