How a Whole-House Generator Can Help You Weather Portland-Area Storms
Well, Portland, we certainly got a taste of winter’s fury this season.
Between the heavy flooding last month and the intense windstorm that accompanied it, many of us spent the holidays with one eye on a weather app and the other on our flashlights.
Now that we’ve officially rolled into January, the chilly temperatures are here to stay for a while. At Sun Glow, we’ve spent years helping our neighbors across the metro area navigate these dark, rainy, and often icy months. If this winter has taught us anything, it’s that storm power outage preparedness is a necessity for Oregon homeowners.
Keeping the Power On in Portland
A whole-home standby generator can change the way you withstand the next Portland-area storm, whether it is an atmospheric river that brings rain and snow, or a powerful ice storm like the one in 2024 that pummeled the area. Rain and ice saturate the soil, which leads to uprooted firs, and sagging, snapping power lines. When the wind kicks up, the lights go out.
Preparing for a storm just before it hits may have you looking for an emergency generator in Beaverton during a downpour or dodging downed tree limbs while seeking battery-operated lanterns in Happy Valley.
The best solution is to create a defensive plan that incorporates a whole-home standby generator well in advance of the power going out. Our Sun Glow professionals can help you with that.
How a Standby Generator Works
A standby generator is a permanent fixture and is countless times more convenient than a portable generator. While you drag your portable generator out of the garage and into the pouring rain, fumbling with extension cords, a standby generator simply kicks into action and supplies electrical service to your Clackamas County home.
At Sun Glow, we exclusively install Honeywell generators. These units are designed to detect a power loss and start automatically within seconds, keeping your HVAC, refrigerator, and Wi-Fi running without you ever having to step outside.
When a standby generator detects a loss of power, a switch disconnects your breaker panel from the utility company’s electricity supply and connects it to the generator. The generator runs on natural gas and can supply power throughout your entire home.
When utility company power returns, the generator disconnects and switches the electrical panel back to grid power. The transition is seamless, and often homeowners aren’t even aware that the power has gone out.
Sizing and Installing a Standby Generator
One of the most common questions we get is: “What size generator do I actually need?” Whole-house generator installation in Portland isn’t a one-size-fits-all project. Sizing depends entirely on your “must-power” list.
The Essentials (10kW–14kW): This size generator typically powers your furnace or heat pump, refrigerator, lights, and a few outlets for charging devices.
Full Comfort (18kW–22kW): You can power the essentials, plus your water heater, oven, and possibly your laundry room.
Total Coverage (26kW+): This size is ideal forlarger homes or those with high-draw items like hot tubs, home EV chargers, or multiple AC units.
Our team performs a load calculation to ensure your Honeywell system can handle not only running your appliances, but also the power needed to start them.
In addition to sizing the unit correctly, we help you choose the best location for your new generator and install the sturdy, stable, code-compliant base on which it will sit. We handle the entire installation process from obtaining permits to the final electrical and gas line connections.
What Does a Standby Generator Cost in Oregon?
The cost depends on its size, the number of appliances it will power, installation complexity, and the extent of gas line work that it requires.
Angi, the online platform that connects homeowners with home services companies, reports that a whole-home generator typically starts around $5,000, based on data from more than 4,000 of its members.
The Spruce, an online home improvement resource, offers a more general estimate of $4,250 to $6,600 for a 2,000-square-foot house. Keep in mind these national averages often don’t include the complex gas and electrical permit work required in the Pacific Northwest.
While the upfront cost of a standby generator is higher than a portable unit, the value added to your home and the certainty of never losing a refrigerator full of groceries or dealing with frozen pipes is priceless.
Plus, Honeywell units feature Precision Power Technology, which delivers clean electricity that won’t damage sensitive electronics, such as laptops and smart TVs. Sun Glow offers convenient financing options to help you find the right equipment for your budget.
Generator Repair and Maintenance
A generator is a piece of precision machinery, much like your car. It sits idle for months and then is expected to run at 100 percent capacity for days on end.
Schedule generator maintenance to ensure the unit is prepared for the next January storm. At Sun Glow, we inspect the oil, filters, battery, electrical connections, and transfer switch, ensuring a seamless handoff from the power grid.
Prepare for the Next Storm in Portland
The best time to prepare for a power outage is before the clouds darken. If you’re tired of worrying about your sump pump failing or your pipes freezing during the next winter storm, let Sun Glow install a standby generator in your Portland-area home. Call us at 971-358-1227 or request service online.