Generators can be helpful in an emergency, but they must be used with caution, as one family learned in a near-fatal situation.
Jody and David Burgin of Westlake, Louisiana, used their generator Halloween night last year and suffered from intense carbon monoxide poisoning, KPLC reported.
"I woke up on the bathroom floor," Jody recalled. She immediately called 911, and the couple was rushed to the hospital for treatment. Jody had a quick recovery, but David is facing a longer road after having to be airlifted to another hospital in Texas for hyperbaric chamber treatment.
The outlet reported that first responders theorize that because the generator was running in the garage, once the power turned back on and the central air kicked on, it sucked the carbon monoxide into the home's attic, where it leaked throughout the house.
"We're very lucky and very blessed to still be alive, and a lot of people, they never wake up and just knowing how close we were to that, it's terrifying," Jody said.
Carbon dioxide is tasteless and odorless and can cause dizziness, permanent brain damage with prolonged exposure, and even death, according to the Mayo Clinic. During Hurricane Laura, eight of the fourteen deaths that occurred were from carbon monoxide poisoning from generators, per KPLC.
Generators run on gasoline, diesel, propane, or natural gas, all of which emit these dangerous emissions near your home (not to mention they're noisy machines). The pollution from operating a standard, 3.5-horsepower generator at an average load of 1 kilowatt for one hour emits as much pollution as driving a car 150 miles, according to the California Air Resources Board
Opting for solar is a cleaner, safer way to power your home, and it can be used during emergencies with backup batteries. EnergySage offers free tools to obtain installation estimates and compare quotes, helping you maximize your savings and find the best fit for your energy needs.
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Ditching the generator can also save you money. While solar panels and backup batteries have higher upfront costs, there's the ongoing cost of purchasing fuel and performing other mechanical maintenance on a gas-powered generator, which adds up over time.
EnergySage can really help find the best solar for you, thanks to their free services, which can help the average person get nearly $10,000 in incentives for solar purchases and installations. They also have a helpful mapping tool that shows, state by state, the average cost of a home solar panel system, as well as the incentives available to further help cut costs.
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