When the power goes out in Central Ohio—and it will—you want to know your home is covered. But backup power isn’t one-size-fits-all. From portable generators to whole-home standby units to battery storage, there are several ways to keep the lights on, and each comes with its own strengths, costs, and trade-offs. This guide compares your main options so you can make an informed decision about protecting your home and family.
Backup Power Options at a Glance
Here’s how the four main approaches stack up before we dig into each one:
| Option | Coverage | Switchover | Runtime | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portable Generator | A few circuits | Manual setup | 8–12 hrs per fuel-up | Occasional short outages, tight budget |
| Standby Generator | Whole home | Automatic, seconds | Days to indefinite (natural gas) | Hands-off whole-home coverage |
| Battery Backup | Essential loads | Instant, silent | 8–24 hrs | Short outages, solar pairing, sensitive electronics |
| Generator + Battery | Whole home | Instant, silent | Indefinite | Maximum resilience, any outage length |
Portable Generators
Portable generators are the entry point to backup power—inexpensive, widely available, and ready to use out of the box. For occasional, short outages, they can keep a few essentials running. But they come with real limitations:
- Manual operation: You have to roll it out, start it, and connect your loads—often in the middle of a storm.
- Carbon monoxide risk: They must run outdoors, well away from windows and doors. CO poisoning from portable generators causes serious injuries and deaths every year.
- Fuel dependence: They run on gasoline and need refueling every 8–12 hours. After a major storm, gas stations may be out of power or out of fuel.
- Noise: Portable units are loud, and they run continuously until you shut them off.
- Limited capacity: They power a handful of circuits via extension cords, not your whole home.
A portable generator is better than nothing for short outages. But if you want reliable, automatic, whole-home coverage, you’ll want to look at a standby unit.
Standby Generators: The Gold Standard
A whole-home standby generator is the most comprehensive residential backup power solution available. Permanently installed outside your home, it connects directly to your electrical panel through an automatic transfer switch. When the power goes out, the transfer switch detects it within seconds, starts the generator, and transfers your home onto backup power—automatically. When utility power returns, it switches back and shuts the generator down.
The advantages over a portable unit are significant:
- Fully automatic: It works whether you’re home or away, awake or asleep. No manual setup.
- Whole-home power: Properly sized, it runs everything—HVAC, well pump, sump pump, refrigerator, lights, and more.
- No refueling: It runs on natural gas or propane. A natural gas unit can run indefinitely; a propane unit runs for days on a tank.
- Safe and permanent: Installed by a licensed electrician with proper permits and a transfer switch that protects line workers.
As a Factory-Authorized dealer for Cummins, Kohler, and Briggs & Stratton, Banner Generators of Central Ohio sizes, installs, and services standby generators across Licking County. Not sure which size you need? Our generator sizing guide walks through how kW ratings map to what they can power.
Find your best fit in one visit
Portable, standby, battery, or hybrid—the right answer depends on how your home uses power. We’ll assess your panel and loads and recommend the option that actually fits, free of charge.
Battery Backup Systems
Home battery backup systems store electrical energy in a wall-mounted unit and deliver it instantly when the grid goes down. They’ve become increasingly popular thanks to falling battery costs and growing interest in energy resilience. Here’s how they compare:
- Instant, silent switchover: A battery system detects an outage in milliseconds and switches over with no interruption—ideal for sensitive electronics and medical equipment.
- Zero emissions, zero noise: Batteries produce no exhaust and run silently, so they can be installed in a garage or utility room.
- No fuel to store or manage: They charge from the grid (and from solar, if you have it).
- Finite capacity: A typical home battery stores 10–14 kWh and can carry critical loads for several hours—but for a multi-day outage, capacity becomes the limiting factor.
Battery systems excel at short, frequent outages and at protecting equipment that can’t tolerate even a brief gap in power. For longer outages, they’re best paired with a generator.
The Hybrid Approach: Generator + Battery
For the highest level of protection, many homeowners combine a standby generator with a battery backup system. The two technologies cover each other’s weaknesses:
- Outage occurs. The battery switches over instantly—no gap in power for your electronics or medical equipment.
- Battery carries short outages. Most brief outages resolve within the battery’s runtime, and the generator never needs to start.
- Generator handles extended outages. If the battery’s charge drops to a set threshold, the standby generator starts automatically, takes over the home’s loads, and recharges the battery.
- Grid restored. When utility power returns, the system transitions back, the generator shuts down, and the battery recharges for next time.
This pairing gives you instant, silent protection for the brief outages that make up most disruptions, plus the unlimited runtime of a generator for the rare multi-day event. It’s the most resilient option available for a Central Ohio home.
How to Choose the Right Option
The right backup power solution depends on your specific situation. Consider these factors:
- How often and how long does your power go out? Frequent, short outages favor a battery; long, infrequent outages favor a generator; both favor a hybrid.
- What do you need to keep running? A few critical circuits, or the whole home including HVAC and a well pump?
- What’s your fuel situation? A natural gas line makes a standby generator especially convenient. Rural homes often use propane.
- Do you have a sump pump or medical equipment? These loads can’t afford to go down, which argues for an automatic system.
- What’s your budget? Portable generators are the least expensive up front; standby units and batteries are larger investments that deliver far more capability and convenience.
Why Central Ohio Homes Benefit from Backup Power
Central Ohio sees a steady mix of spring thunderstorms, straight-line winds, ice storms, and the occasional tornado—all of which can take down power for hours or days. Many rural Licking County homes also rely on well pumps and sump pumps that simply stop working in an outage, and natural gas service is widely available, making standby generators a practical and convenient choice. For families who’ve ridden out a long outage once, the value of automatic backup power is easy to understand.
Let’s Find the Right Fit for Your Home
Whether you’re leaning toward a standby generator, a battery system, or a hybrid setup, Banner Generators of Central Ohio can help you weigh the options and design a system that fits your home and budget. Backed by 60+ years of Banner Electric, we install and service Cummins, Kohler, and Briggs & Stratton generators throughout Newark, Heath, Pataskala, Granville, Hebron, Buckeye Lake, Johnstown, Utica, Hanover, and all of Licking County. Contact us for a free consultation.
