Editor's Note: This article was written and submitted by Chris Boyle.
Continued fallout from Hurricane Sandy and pre-emptive preparation for future storms were the focus of this month’s meeting of the North and Central Merrick Civic Association.
Albert Hakim, Vice-President of Al-Lectric Emergency Power of Freeport, discussed the different types of electrical generators that are available on the market and the advantages of having one in your home, calling them the one viable alternative so that we can fend for ourselves until he power comes back on.
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“Generators are essentially an engine, and there are different kinds,” Hakim said. “The easiest and most affordable one runs on gasoline. They’re called portables, and they can be a viable tool in case your power goes out, but the downside is the amount of gas they use and carbon monoxide they create.”
“The next level up is a stand-by generator, which is powered by natural gas or liquid petroleum,” Hakim said. “The whole point of a home standby generator is that they kick on automatically when the power goes off.”
According to Hakim, home standby generators must be installed by a licensed company after a variance has been approved by the local municipality, and these devices, through intelligent power management and the size of the generator purchased, can effectively power your entire home for extended periods.
“There has been innovation in power management in recent years,” he said. “We can put a system in place with relays and intelligent management that can designate three specific high-powered items of your choice. We can then power the entire house. But, we can let the priorities that we set decide that, if there isn’t enough power that that time, at least the three items you designated will work. For example, your refrigerator, washing machine and so on.”
Another important area of generator installation was covered by Hakim — cost. And typically, he said, it can be surprisingly affordable.
“With intelligent power management, you can power an entire house with a much smaller unit than you could have just a few years ago,” Hakim said. “In this case, it’s possible to serve your home’s power needs with a unit that only costs three or four thousand dollars. Of course, installation fees and obtaining variances and building permits will increase that price, but generators are the best alternative for true peace of mind.”
What is your stance on generators? Tell us in the comments section below.
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Home Generators Discussed at Civic Meeting
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Bobby Stokel May 21, 2013 at 11:17 am
Thank you to everyone so far in showing your support. We still need more signatures so please help…Read More :-)
Michael Ganci (Editor) May 20, 2013 at 12:37 am
We just posted. I was at the scene. Hope this helps! MG…Read More http://merrick.patch.com/groups/breaking-news/p/woman-struck-by-train-at-merrick-lirr-station
Zach T May 17, 2013 at 07:20 pm
The School board is a bunch of morons if they want to remove this designation! There were 0 problems…Read More like this when Malucci was in office, this new superintendent is a waste of space, money, and cares more about his own paycheck then our kids! Between school security, and now this, I motion that we get rid of that skell!
Dr. Kim Lurie May 16, 2013 at 12:54 pm
Bless you, Anthony. And though I know ultimately the "Judge" will have to be held…Read More accountable by a higher authority...those of us who do this work, have not forgotten nor will we allow the system to forget what her role in this travesity was.
Anthony Merlo May 16, 2013 at 10:24 am
Thank you for this wonderful article on a good man pushed to the brink. I appriciate the fact this…Read More came form the heart and did not hold back. As Sacristan at Cure of Ars, I had the pleasure of working with Dr. Rich (as I called him) for some time. He was a man of faith and a pleasure to see. Always with a smile and kind word, you would never know what was going on the way he acted. This was a wonderful and insightful article. It is heartbreaking to think that where there was once love between 2 people, things got to the point where one persons life was destroyed by those who could and did for no apparent reason other than having the ability to do so. God will have mercy on Dr. Rich and the ex-wife and "Judge" should pray for the same given their actions.