Middle Tennessee and northern Alabama don’t get the headlines of hurricane country, but anyone who’s lived here through a summer knows what our storm season looks like — powerful afternoon thunderstorms, tornado watches, and lines of severe weather that can drop trees on power lines and knock out electricity for hours or days at a time.
At ACDC Electrical Services, we install and service standby generators throughout our region, and we hear the same story every year: a homeowner’s generator hadn’t been tested since last fall, and the first time they needed it — in the middle of an August storm — it wouldn’t start.
Don’t be that story. Here’s how to make sure your generator is ready before storm season arrives.
🔄 1. Run a Full Load Test — Not Just a Startup
Most standby generators run a brief weekly self-test automatically. That’s a good start, but it’s not a full load test. A load test runs your generator under actual power demand — the kind of load it would carry during a real outage — for a sustained period.
A full load test reveals problems that a 10-minute idle test won’t catch: voltage drop under load, overheating, transfer switch issues, and fuel delivery problems that only show up when the generator is working hard.
✅ Tip: We recommend a full load test at least once a year, ideally in spring before storm season begins. If you’ve never had one done, now is the time.
🛢️ 2. Check Fuel — Propane Level and Natural Gas Supply
If your generator runs on propane, check your tank level now. Don’t wait until a storm is forecast and everyone in the county is calling their propane company at the same time. A tank that’s sitting at 20% capacity going into storm season is not enough margin.
If you’re on natural gas, the fuel concern is different but still worth thinking about: in some severe weather events, gas service can be interrupted. Know whether your home is on natural gas and whether your generator would lose fuel supply if gas lines were damaged in your area.
🔧 3. Inspect the Transfer Switch
The transfer switch is the electrical component that disconnects your home from the utility grid and connects it to generator power when an outage occurs. It’s the most critical electrical component in the system — and one of the least visible.
Signs of transfer switch problems include:
- Generator starts but home circuits don’t receive power
- Some circuits work during an outage and others don’t
- Transfer happens slowly or with a longer-than-normal delay
- Any burning smell near the transfer switch panel
Transfer switch issues should always be diagnosed and repaired by a licensed electrician. This is not a DIY component.
🌿 4. Clear the Generator’s Surroundings
Winter and spring bring debris — leaves, pine needles, small branches — that can accumulate around and under your generator. Before storm season, clear a zone of at least 18 inches around the unit on all sides. Check that the exhaust pathway is clear and unobstructed.
Also check for any vegetation that has grown toward the unit since last year. Shrubs and vines can obstruct airflow, and that becomes a real problem when the generator runs for extended periods in the heat.
✅ Tip: Never run your generator inside an enclosed space, under a low overhang, or immediately adjacent to any window or door. Carbon monoxide from generator exhaust is an invisible, odorless, and rapidly lethal hazard.
🔋 5. Test the Battery
Standby generators start on a battery — similar to a car battery — and that battery can fail without warning after 3–4 years of service. A generator that won’t start when the power goes out is about as useful as no generator at all.
During your spring service visit, we check battery voltage and load-test it to verify it has enough capacity to reliably start the unit under real conditions. Battery replacement is inexpensive; a failed start during a storm is not.
⚡ 6. Verify Your Generator’s Capacity Still Matches Your Home
Standby generators are sized based on the electrical load they need to carry. But homes change — new appliances, an EV charger, a hot tub addition, an HVAC replacement with a more demanding unit. If your home’s electrical load has grown since your generator was installed, it may no longer be adequately sized to power your home during an extended outage.
We can do a quick load calculation to confirm your generator is still appropriately sized — and if not, discuss your options before you find out the hard way.
🌩️ Storm Season Doesn’t Wait — Neither Should You
The best time to service your generator is before the first severe weather of the season. Once storms start rolling through, appointment schedules fill up fast — and if your generator fails during an outage, you’re looking at emergency response times and emergency rates.
Get ahead of it now.
📞 Call ACDC Electrical Services at (931) 271-9603 to schedule your generator inspection and service this spring. We install and service standby generators throughout Middle Tennessee and northern Alabama — Lawrenceburg, Pulaski, Columbia, Waynesboro, Huntsville, Athens, Florence, and everywhere in between.