Backup power before the storm, not during it.

The week a storm is named is the worst week to buy.

Every Florida hurricane season follows the same pattern. A storm enters the Gulf or comes up the Atlantic coast, and suddenly everyone wants a generator on the same day. Good units are gone. Transport is competing with evacuation traffic. Licensed electricians are fully booked. Fuel stations run dry. Whatever is still available is not necessarily the right size for your building, and there is no time to find out.

Buying in the off season means you actually get to choose. You can size properly, inspect the unit, arrange installation on a normal schedule, and test it before you need it.

Decide what has to stay running.

For a home, that usually means refrigeration, at least some air conditioning, well pump if you are on a well, lights, internet, and medical equipment if anyone depends on it. Air conditioning is the load people are most tempted to leave out and most regret leaving out — a sealed Florida house in August without cooling becomes unusable quickly.

For a business, the list is different: refrigeration and cold storage, point of sale and network equipment, security and access control, sump or lift pumps, and whatever production equipment cannot sit idle. A business that stays open when the surrounding area is dark is often the one that keeps its customers. See the sizing guide for how those loads turn into a generator size.

The connection matters as much as the generator.

A generator is only half the system. The other half is how it connects. An automatic transfer switch senses the outage, starts the generator, and moves the load over without anyone present — which matters if the storm hits while you are away or asleep. A manual transfer switch or interlock costs less and requires someone to operate it.

What is never acceptable is back-feeding: running a cord from a generator into an outlet or dryer receptacle to energize house wiring. It sends power backward through your meter onto utility lines that crews believe are dead. People are killed this way. Have a licensed electrician install a proper transfer switch.

Fuel is the part people underestimate.

A generator with four hours of fuel is not a hurricane plan. Florida outages after major storms have run for days in some areas. Work out your expected hourly burn, multiply by the days you want to cover, and decide now where that fuel is stored and how it is legally and safely kept.

Stored diesel is not indefinite. It needs stabilizer and biocide treatment, and it needs to be turned over rather than sat on for years, or you end up with contaminated fuel and plugged filters on the one night the generator has to work. Arrange a refueling source in advance as well, because the queue at the local station during an outage is not a supply plan.

Placement and safety.

The generator goes outdoors, on stable ground, with the exhaust directed away from any door, window, or air intake. Engine exhaust contains carbon monoxide, and carbon monoxide poisoning kills people after Florida storms every single year. Give the unit clearance for cooling airflow and for service access, and think about storm surge and flooding when choosing the spot — a generator sitting in water is no use to anyone.

Test it before the season.

A standby generator that has never been exercised is an assumption, not a backup plan. Run it under load periodically, keep the batteries healthy, keep oil and filters current, and confirm the transfer switch actually transfers. The failures that show up during a hurricane are almost always the ones that could have shown up in April.

Talk to someone who has worked on these.

GTG Power’s owner has spent 30 years repairing and selling generators. That means the conversation covers what actually fails, what a unit’s hours and history really tell you, and what size genuinely fits your building — not just what is in stock. We confirm the specification, condition, and price, and arrange delivery anywhere in Florida.