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Battery Backup Sump Pump Installation

If your sump pump system has no backup sump, even the best system will fail when the power goes out. Unfortunately, the worst rains are most likely to make this happen. With all the battery backup sump pump systems available out there, which is the best one?

Generator-powered sump pump backup

If you spend about $400, you can buy a portable generator that can be used to run the sump pump when the power goes out. However, to use this generator when you need it, you will need to be both home and awake at the moment the power fails. The generator will need to be started- usually out in the rain- and if you're on vacation or at work when this happens, there will be no easy way to be sure it's running when you need it.

If you want to spend $7,000-$10,000 for purchase and installation, you can hire an electrician to hook up an automatic generator in your home that will switch itself on when the power goes out, turning on the sump pump and other utilities. However, this is extremely expensive, and in most cases it's not a practical solution.

Alternate Sump Pump Power Source

Alternate sump pump power sources are designed to convert a battery's DC power to usable AC power when the primary sump pump fails. However, converting DC to AC is an extremely inefficient process, and much of the charge is lost in translation. The batteries usually last for either about an hour or until 2,200 gallons of water have been pumped. 

Additionally, because there is only one sump pump installed in your Virginia home, you have no backup ready if the sump experiences mechanical failure or if a circuit trips, etc. A full battery backup sump pump provides protection during more than just power outages.

Generic Battery Backup Sump Pump Systems

Irresponsible contractors sometimes try to rig up a cheap battery backup sump pump, connecting it to a car battery sitting next to the sump pit. These batteries are not meant for workloads like this, and after a year or so, their amperage-hour capacity will drop significantly. If there's a flood, you won't be able to count on them for long.

Sump Pump Battery Backup Systems in VA

High-quality battery backup sump pumps have been designed specifically for Virginia basement and crawl space sump pumps. Battery backup sump pumps like Basement Systems' UltraSump can pump out more than 11,000 gallons of water on a single charge, and the battery will not run out by sitting on the basement floor for a year. They can pump 3 to 5 times more water than an alternate power source -- if that's not enough, an additional battery can be installed to give you over 22,000 gallons of pumping time!

It's also a good idea to install a secondary sump pump in your system. A battery backup can only run for so long on a single charge -- if your primary pump is down for a long time, you will want an AC pump to be available to take over. With a primary sump pump, a battery backup sump pump, and a secondary sump pump, you can feel confident that your home is best protected.

Evergreen Basement Systems of Virginia provides free, no-obligation estimates on VA sump pump installations. Call or contact us online today for a free estimate!