Electricity is a great example of something many homeowners don't think much about - until it's not available. Any homeowner who has had to throw out a freezer's worth of meat after a power failure knows that even fairly short outages can be very expensive.

The right electric home generators can prevent this kind of loss. And in some situations, having power is even more important: once the power goes out in your home and you can't open your garage or get water from your well, you may begin to see why so many homeowners invest in home generators.

• Keep heating, air conditioning, refridgerators and water heaters operating
• Keep lines of communication open (telephone, television and Internet)
• Keep lights, security systems and cash registers running