KOHLER Generators Offers 10 Power Outage Safety Tips to Prepare for Hurricane Ian

Hurricane Ian is expected to hit the west coast of Florida or the Florida Panhandle and possibly impact southeastern states later this week. It will likely intensify to a Category 3 or 4 hurricane when it makes landfall. A storm of this magnitude brings the threat of damaging winds, flooding rainfall and power outages.

To help residents prepare for the storm and its aftermath, the power experts at KOHLER Generators have assembled 10 essential safety tips for this hurricane.

• A smartphone is a lifeline for most people. Make sure it stays powered up during an outage by purchasing a power bank or backup battery.
• Turn off major appliances such as water heaters, stoves and air conditioning units. Unplug any televisions, stereos, microwaves and computers. These systems and devices can be damaged if there is a power surge.
• Familiarize yourself with your main electrical panel. You may have to turn off the main breaker or reset circuit breakers after an outage.
• Leave one light on so you know when power is restored to your home.
• Ditch the candles for battery-powered flashlights or lanterns. Keep plenty of extra batteries on hand.
• If you're running a portable generator, be sure to use properly rated extension cords (outdoor, electrical load and length). Also, ensure the portable generator is properly vented to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning. Do not place a portable generator in your home or an enclosed space with limited ventilation, like a garage or a screened porch.
• Do not connect portable generators directly to the electrical system of your home. Electricity could flow backward into the power lines and endanger lives. Either have a qualified electrician install a manual transfer switch or plug appliances directly into the portable generator.
• Inspect the area around your electricity meter. If you detect or suspect any damage, call your local utility provider.
• Stay away from fallen wires, flooded areas and debris. Treat all down wires and anything touching them as though they have electricity flowing through them.
• Once the storm passes, consider investing in a commercial-grade, automatic standby generator from KOHLER that offers greater resilience to ride out the storm.

A standby generator turns on automatically when power is lost and is permanently installed outside a home, like a central air conditioning unit. It can power critical and sophisticated appliances and systems in your home, including lights, heating/cooling systems, refrigerators, sump pumps, home security systems, computers and more.

To learn more about portable generators and automatic standby generators, visit KOHLERGenerators.com for helpful videos, pricing calculators and other resources. 

SOURCE Kohler Co.