Cost is a chief advantage of using the public utility grid over using a generator. You have to run the generator daily to charge your batteries in order to provide continuous power 24 hours per day, seven days a week. The cost of fuel will become a factor. To use batteries, first you must convert the alternating current, or AC, output of the generator to direct current, or DC. To draw power from the batteries, you have to convert the DC back to AC. This involves using expensive converting units. In the long run, it may be cheaper to just use power off the grid.
In a public utility grid, a hydro electric plant produces zero pollution. For coal-fired electrical plants, pollution regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency are quite extensive. Unfortunately, a diesel generator puts forth pollution. Even though pollution control devices are used in modern generators, they do not eliminate pollution 100 percent. A diesel engine still puts forth emissions. Another area is noise pollution. Virginia Tech states that most under 5-megawatt diesel generators produce noise. Even though they have mufflers, noise pollution is still present. With the public utility grid, noise pollution is not a concern for neighborhoods, since generating plants are usually located far away from highly populated residential areas.
According to Virginia Tech, because of pollution problems, diesel generators are only allowed to be run 150 hours per year. A year has 365 days. Dividing 365 by 150 yields 2.43. This means the generator can only be run for about two hours and twenty minutes per day. If you use a generator alone, all your storage batteries will have to be charged up in this time period. With a public utility grid, all time constraint concerns are eliminated. Grids run continuously 24 hours per day, 365 days a year.
Public utility companies have extensive computerized equipment to regulate the voltage to your house. Most wall outlets are 120 volts, and the utilities do everything in their power to keep it right at 120 volts. Voltage spikes or dips are rare. A spike is when the voltage exceeds 120 volts momentarily. A dip is when the voltage drops below 120 volts momentarily. With a generator, controlling spikes and dips requires expensive voltage regulating equipment. If you do not regulate the voltage correctly, a spike can be created when the generator first turns on. A spike will destroy the power supplies of your computers, televisions and other sensitive electronic equipment.