Backup NorthPower station, generator or home battery?
Each one solves a different problem. Here's how they compare for a typical Canadian house.
| Portable power station | Portable generator | Whole-home battery | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical cost | About $500 to $4,000 | About $600 to $2,500, plus transfer switch install | Often $10,000 to $25,000 installed, before rebates |
| Runs how long | Hours to a day or two, then needs recharging | As long as you have fuel | Hours to a day or more; longer with solar |
| Noise and fumes | Silent, safe indoors | Loud; carbon monoxide; outdoors only | Silent |
| Upkeep | Top up charge every few months | Fuel storage, oil changes, test runs | Very little |
| Hardwired loads | Only with an electrician-installed inlet | With a transfer switch or interlock | Built in, automatic switch-over |
| Best for | Apartments, essentials, short outages | Long rural outages, larger loads | Frequent outages, solar homes, hands-off backup |
Generators: the safety rules that matter
- Only run a generator outdoors, well away from doors, windows and vents. Never in a garage, even with the door open. Carbon monoxide has no smell.
- Have working carbon monoxide alarms near sleeping areas.
- Connecting a generator to your home's wiring needs a transfer switch or approved interlock, installed by a licensed electrician with a permit. In BC that's under Technical Safety BC, in Ontario the Electrical Safety Authority (ESA), and in Alberta a permit through your municipality or an accredited agency.
- Store fuel in approved containers, away from the house. Gasoline goes stale in a few months without stabilizer.
The quiet middle ground
Many households pair a mid-sized power station (about 2 kWh) for overnight essentials with a small generator or solar panel to recharge it in a long outage. You get silent power at night and fuel only when needed.
Not sure which you need? Start with the calculator.