The creature comforts that make our lives livable–heating and air-conditioning, refrigeration, lighting, internet and communications–are only as reliable as the energy supply that keeps them running. It’s easy to take them for granted.
Most of us can tough-it-out when a passing storm knocks out the power for a few hours. But those inconveniences are not our greatest concern. Prolonged outages are. In our part of the world we are reminded of this all the time, most recently in the form of
catastrophic flooding experienced by regional neighbors in East Tennessee and North Carolina. Thousands who did not even experience direct losses found themselves stranded and in the dark. In those extreme cases, a whole-home generator can be the difference between life as you know it and a life-threatening emergency.
“If you’re living with a companion or a family member who is on dialysis, a heart monitor or uses a CPAP machine, it can be panic mode if the power goes out,” says Lynn Tidmore, owner of Alabama-based Current Electrical. “You only have so much time. But when we leave their house after installing a whole-home generator, all they have to do is smile. They can go about their routines because they’ll never be without power.”
Tidmore knows a thing or two about generators. Make that, a thing or 5,000. That’s how many generators Current Electrical has installed in the last 13+ years. In fact, Tidmore got into the business after one of the largest tornado outbreaks in U.S. history tore through Alabama–and parts of Mississippi and Tennessee–on April 27, 2011. “The storms were massive, and they took out the power grid; all we were doing for eight weeks was installing generators,” says Tidmore. “At the time we were predominantly an electrical contractor. There were a lot of contractors, but no one was specializing in generators. I thought it might be a trend so I thought, ‘Why don’t we tackle this?’”
Current Electrical stresses prevention and peace of mind to its customers throughout Middle Tennessee (including Williamson and Maury counties) and Northern Alabama. In a typical year, the company installs more than 500 units, almost exclusively Generac-branded equipment. The generators are powered by natural gas or propane and are connected to the exterior of the home in much the same way as your HVAC system. Outdoor installation is required because the system creates emissions.
While every job is different, Tidmore says that 90 percent of his customers go the whole-home route. “It’s entirely a turnkey process,” he says. “All you have to do is tell us what you want. You do nothing else. We work with the utilities and inspectors; we cut sheet rock and handle underground trenching. All you do is consummate the deal and be happy.”
Current Electrical will send a sales representative to your home to assess the dynamics of your particular situation. Typically, you’ll have a proposal within an hour and, depending on the schedule, your generator will be up-and-running within three-to-six weeks.
Once installed and operational, the Generac system operates in the background, going virtually unnoticed. If your home is serviced by a natural gas line, you’ll have an unlimited source of power. With propane you are limited to the size of your tanks. “You literally do nothing,” says Tidmore. “The system continuously monitors and senses when the power is on or off. If the power goes out, the system will initiate. It also comes on automatically each week for a five-minute test to ensure that everything is functioning
properly.”
Tidmore recommends that Current Electrical inspect each unit every six months for routine, preventative maintenance, just as you would for your HVAC and plumbing.“Current has installed over 5,000 Generac generators for families who, in the event of an
emergency, no longer worry or stress over power issues,” says Tidmore. “The units are locked and secure, so no one has to be in there but us. We encourage a ‘hands-off’ approach. If anything should go wrong, call us and we’ll have someone close by.”
Ninety percent of Current Electrical’s customers are residential homeowners. Tidmore went into business in 1987, servicing residential, commercial and industrial clients by providing them with professional electrical craftsmanship to facilitate their electrical needs.
Today, Current Electrical is a family-owned and operated business as Tidmore has a granddaughter, grandson, daughter-in-law and a nephew working alongside him. He and his wife, Donna, have been married, “for 33 or 34 years,” he says. “Fortunately, I’m
married to a woman who doesn’t mind if I’m not always on top of those things. We’re two different human beings but we’re a good pair. Why would you want to live in chaos?”
The same can be said if you’re considering a generator for your home. GenSuperStore.com