You might need an automatic power system if you can relate to any one of these ...
you worry about your basement flooding whenever you leave the house;
your sump pump is powered by electricity;
your sump pump runs more than once a day;
your insurance company has refused you flood insurance after the last two floods;
you rely on a pump to get water from the cistern or the well;
you have one of those new-fangled raised septic beds with a pump ... one of the few
things I know about plumbing is that water doesn't flow uphill without help ...
you have either a refrigerator or a freezer with food in them (Those of you with
teenagers in the house needn’t worry about this one!);
you have any heirlooms or items with sentimental value on display or in storage in
your basement;
you don't enjoy your spouse urging you to get out of bed at 2AM - in the
middle of an ice storm - in your house coat - to get the generator out of the shed -
and, while connecting it to the sump pump, (after you have untangled the
extension cord that insists on wrapping itself around every other item in the shed)
you are hoping that it will start on the first pull, on the fuel that has been
in the gas tank since the last power failure;
your business takes you away from your home overnight;
your talking, live security system requires more than a 12V rechargeable battery;
you hate the thought of your spouse missing out on all of the "fun" you are having trying
to protect what is probably your largest investment, your home;
you've actually thought that, during a large scale power outage, the gas station
won't have the power to pump the fuel into your Jerry can so that you can run your
generator;
the warranty on your current generator is 90 days or when you add fuel,
whichever comes first;
you want to increase the resale value of your home;
after the huge Y2k scare, you want to be prepared for Y10k
(and yes, it's coming, and it's only 8,000 short years away - get the news out!)
you realize that, while, we all enjoy candlelight dinners, you find it difficult to
read by candlelight - (what else are you going to do in your modern home -
watch the HDTV?)
your attack dogs have figured out that the "invisible fencing" doesn't work
when all of the houses in the neighbourhood are dark;
you realized, after you married the spouse whom you love dearly, that they have
proved the theory of evolution is true and have evolved two hands that each have 5
thumbs on them, and none of them are opposable;
and finally, you might need an automatic, emergency power system, if,
after reading this "tongue in cheek" look at the state of your home,
you want to call Andrew, the guy from Erie Generator,
to thank him for a good laugh, or to get a free estimate on a system,
but the only phone in your home is a cordless, and it is not working
because the power is out again ...