With an increasingly challenged power grid and increased response times to emergency outages, many homeowners are looking for cleaner, quieter and reliable ways to maintain power in their homes. Last year power outages forced more than 13 million people from their homes, at high cost and inconvenience.
The challenge for home generators has always been to produce enough power to provide comforts without compromising efficiency. General Electric has teamed with Briggs and Stratton to develop a system that uses sophisticated electronic monitoring controls with a high-efficiency compact power unit, which is scalable depending on the energy requirements. 
For many stand-by generators, power requirements were oversized to accommodate high use appliances like central air conditioning, hot water heaters and clothes dryers. GE has developed new electronic “traffic cop” Symphony™ controls that monitor and prioritize high wattage appliances.
Briggs & Stratton has developed a new, energy efficient standby power generator that answers the need for emergency power. The generator motor has a five-year warranty and has a premium alternator for easier computer interface. These stand-by generators have a SoundVault™ enclosure to allow airflow and ultra quiet operation. The GE standby generators can operate on permanent natural gas or liquid propane connection. GE’s Generator Systems website provides an easy to use buying guide to help determine what size standby generator fits your needs, as well as helpful videos about the product’s features.
In colder climates, it is important to note that liquid propane tanks supplying standby generators should be buried to maintain constant temperature and pressure of the propane. If propane is above ground and exposed to colder temperatures, its volume is reduced and pressure also decreases. Without enough volume to create pressure to move the propane out of the tank, above ground propane tanks may not be able to supply propane to power the generator.