Backup Plan

JB Photografie/Photolibrary/Generac Power Systems

Jerry Mack, who owns the Sears Hometown store, in Corry, Pa., says the only portable generators that he’s sold since he took over the store in 2008 were sold during a freak October snowstorm. That’s how it goes with generators: You don’t think about them until there’s a blackout.

“It’s always a last-minute purchase,” Mack says.

You never know when that last minute’s going to come, but when it does, chances are that you’ll find generators that are a lot more energy-efficient than they were 5 years ago (the last time that we reviewed these products).

Environmental Protection Agency’s latest emissions requirements—aimed at engines that produce 25 hp or less, which include those that are in generators—will become law in 2011. The new standards will result in generators that emit 35 percent fewer hydrocarbons, 35 percent less nitrogen-oxide and 45 percent fewer gas vapors than some current models will, EPA says.

To deliver these results, manufacturers and suppliers have redesigned their engines for generators. They improved the carburetion, added EPA-required catalytic converters and reduced potential fuel leaks by creating better seals around the pistons, rings and cylinders of their engines. Of course, these advancements come at a price that manufacturers are passing along to the consumer.

California Air Resources Board (CARB) this year implemented standards that mirror EPA’s, so all new generators that are sold in California must be CARB-compliant. Based on retail prices that we’ve seen, CARB-compliant models cost 10 percent to 20 percent more than their noncompliant counterparts do. Manufacturers continue to make non-CARB-compliant generators to be sold elsewhere and can continue to do so through Dec. 31. These models can continue to be sold after Jan. 1, 2011, but at that point all newly produced generators must adhere to EPA standards. We expect to see similar price increases become widespread next year as manufacturers distribute these greener generators nationwide.

Why the price hike? The biggest reason is that the newly required catalytic converters, which reduce carbon-dioxide emissions, include platinum or other expensive precious metals to function properly.

BEARING THE LOAD. However, a few manufacturers are working to make their generators even more fuel-efficient through the use of inverter technology. In inverter technology, a computer in the generator monitors how much energy is required of a generator and raises or lowers the engine’s rpm based on that. For example, if you simply want to operate a lamp that has a 50-watt lightbulb, inverter technology would control the generator’s output to provide enough power to light the bulb and do no more. That’s more efficient—and economical—than are traditional generators, which run at full speed regardless of the demand that is put on them. Inverter technology was introduced in low-watt camping generators 2 years ago. In the past year, the technology for portable generators has appeared only in premium Honda models.

That’s because inverter units are expensive. Honda’s smallest portable home generator that includes the technology—the 3,000-watt EU3000iSA—costs $2,280. At that price, you could buy a traditional 10,000-watt generator. That’s the difference between powering, say, a few appliances and your entire house.

Briggs & Stratton, Generac, Honeywell and Yamaha have inverting camping generators, but they say they are waiting until the price of the technology falls before they bring it to portable home generators.

“Inverter technology is a natural progression for generators; it’s the future,” says John Hoch, who founded Electric Generators Direct, which is an online retailer and information site.