Standby generators are some of the most popular power units on the market for a smattering of different reasons. Standby generators have been used by thousands of people across the country to provide their homes and businesses with extra power to last for long periods of time.
Having a standby generator installed in your home can automatically supply you power when you need it the most during sudden unwanted power outages, these could be caused by several things such as storms, natural disasters and many more.
Standby generators are essential devices that provide backup power during electrical outages. These reliable machines play a vital role in various settings, from residential homes to critical facilities like hospitals and data centres.
In this blog post, we will delve into the intricate workings of standby generators and explore the key components and mechanisms that enable them to keep electricity flowing.
What is a Standby Generator?
A standby generator is a permanently installed appliance that supplies power to a home or office space with backup power in the event of a power outage. These generators are designed to activate as soon as your mains power supply cuts out.
A power cut can occur for a number of reasons from harsh weather conditions to planned maintenance in the area – a standby generator is the perfect tool to combat power failures to keep your home fully powered throughout the outage.
If you’ve lived through any natural storms and bad weather, you’ll often find that it can leave electricity companies near you damaged and ruined. This leads to your home and the residents around you being forced to go without any power.
This could be hours, days or even weeks before a fix is made, giving everyone involved an experience that nobody wants to go through – especially if you are in a packed home! For the lucky, the repairs to your power systems should not take much longer than a day or so.
If you have refrigerators and freezers inside your home, a power outage could potentially leave you heavily out of pocket to restock the wasted food inside your household.
How Do They Work?
One common question that we get asked is how these units actually work, what happens during the downtime while your power is out for the generator to detect an outage?
Initially, while the generator is not in use, your standby generator remains in standby mode, ready to take over main power operations when needed. The control panel on the unit will also continuously monitor the utility power status.
When the control panel detects a disruption in the utility power, it sends a signal to the generator to start. Upon receiving the signal, the engine of the standby generator starts and begins to run at a specified speed.
As the engine runs, it powers the alternator, which generates electrical energy. The voltage regulator ensures that the electrical output from the alternator remains within the desired voltage range, preventing damage to connected devices.
Once the generator is producing stable power, the transfer switch activates, disconnecting the building from the utility power and connecting it to the generator. The standby generator now supplies electricity to the connected circuits, ensuring uninterrupted power until the utility power is restored.
Benefits of a Standby Generator
When you buy your own standby generator, you will be entitled to a variety of great features and benefits that come with these units. Standby generators are some of the UK’s most popular units for a plethora of reasons.
If you purchase a standby generator, you will be able to fill your home with an ample amount of power to ensure that you can smoothly cruise through the coming power outages with ease. These units are perfect for use in the home since they are built to automatically turn on during your power cut.
With these units, you can also avoid flooding your home due to the freezer turning off as well as maintain the use of your water and electrical appliances as normal. This means you can carry on with life as normal while there’s a power outage in your home.
The best way to avoid potential power issues is to install a Standby generator. Standby generators are extremely convenient as they automatically turn on as soon as they detect things such as a lack of power, and operate on the propane tank of your home or municipal natural gas.
Eliminating any potential worries you may have regarding frequent power outages – especially if you are noticing it happening fairly often which may be due to an ageing grid infrastructure.
They are known for providing people with sound peace of mind and safety from power cuts. You won’t have to control it as well as they monitor your power throughout the day whether you are at home watching television, at work or in a different country on holiday.
As soon as an outage is detected, the unit will turn on and supply well-needed power to the appliances in your home. This will normally happen after a few seconds when the generator detects a malfunction.
When you choose to hire a generator from Pleavin Power, you will be guaranteed a high-quality unit that is able to carry you through your power failures.
If you instead choose to buy a power generator unit from our stock, we can supply you with an array of industry-standard repair services to keep your generator in top working condition.
Conclusion
Standby generators are an indispensable solution for maintaining power continuity during outages. By understanding their inner workings and components, we gain a deeper appreciation for their reliability.
From engines and alternators to control panels and transfer switches, every component plays a crucial role in keeping the lights on when your main power source fails.
Standby generators offer peace of mind, ensuring that critical operations can continue without interruption, making them an invaluable asset in various residential, commercial, and industrial settings.
If you are in need of a standby generator or are looking to enlist the generator maintenance services of the Pleavin Power team, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our support team at 0151 832 5007 or email us at servi[email protected] and we will be in touch as soon as we can.

Jack is the owner of Pleavin Power which was founded in 2017. He has worked in the power industry for over a decade and has an extreme focus on providing a quality service to clients across the UK. This has led Pleavin Power to becoming the market leader in the Critical, Prime & Standby Power markets.