Mother nature has a knack for throwing some powerful snowstorms. Nearly every winter no matter how prepared an area is, the power is knocked out. Sometimes the power may be out for an hour or extend several days depending on where a person may live and the severity of the outage. The dead of winter is not a good time to go without electricity. For those who rely on electricity as their sole source of heat, a generator is an absolute must.An electrician can help a homeowner decide what kind of generator they will need to power their home. Some homes may only need a small one to power a portable heater for one room. Others will need a higher one to power a furnace. Large appliances like a refrigerator may also need to be on a generator to prevent food spoilage. Rural areas may wish to have their well pump hooked up as well to ensure they have water to the home.Generators are designed to be portable or permanent fixtures on a home. An electrician can give more specific details about the pros and cons of each style. Portable generators are generally less wattage and will require a pull chain to start. If the generator has been stored outside in freezing cold temps, it may not start right away or at all. If it is stored in a shed outside, a homeowner will have to shovel a path to move the generator close to the house in order for the extension cords to reach.A better, more idealistic option is the standby or permanent generator. An electrician can wire a home to have an automatic switch that will transfer a home's power needs to a standby generator automatically when the power goes out. This type of setup ensures a family will not inadvertently sleep through an outage and wake up to a cold house. An automatic generator guarantees your home's appliances will continue operating when you are away and unable to go through the tasks of dragging extension cords to a portable unit.A standby generator installed by a qualified electrical contractor can drastically increase the value of your home. People want to know they will be safe during inclement weather and will appreciate having a defense mechanism. Standby generators are built to be protected from the weather and the containment systems they require also reduces the sound of the unit. These systems can be powered by a natural gas hookup or a propane tank. This is another selling point over the portable ones which require gas to be poured in periodically. Choosing to have an electrician install a standby generator is one of the best decisions a homeowner can make.