GRANDVIEW HEIGHTS, Ohio — Major winter weather is coming for the holiday weekend, so now is the time to have a backup plan if the power goes out in that winter storm.
The good news is, generators are in good supply, right now.
Jay Amstutz at Ohio Power Tool anticipates things will pick up at the shop after the first major winter storm.
“What happens before we have big weather events is like nobody does anything ahead of time and then power goes out everybody freaks out then they call us or after that they've had a problem they'll come in and say for the next time I'm going to be ready,” he said. “But nobody ever plans ahead of time.
He said you don't need to have a full generator, battery packs have become more popular.
Some devices are powered with batteries you may already have for power tools.
He said they work to power your refrigerator... or a TV... or a furnace.
Once you have the backup power source, there's one step you'll need to take to make sure you're fully prepared.
“The best way to be really prepared is to have a transfer switch on your house so you can take your generator out, power it up, and then that transfer switch you can switch it over and then power your house on it,” he said.
Price wise the battery packs are going to run you from a few hundred dollars up to a thousand, similar to a generator. But there is more convenience with these compared to a generator that requires gas.