Generator sales have spiked in the Pittsburgh area in the wake of a massive storm system that hit the region in late April, knocking out power for more than 700,000 customers in Western Pennsylvania.

KDKA's John Shumway looked into the pros and cons of getting a generator for your home.

The biggest con is the initial expense, but the pros are numerous and not always obvious.

When the trees and powerlines came down, the nightmare began.

"I know the average homeowner loses power one and a half times a year, so there's never a good time to lose power," said RC Watt owner of RC Watt Co.

Watt has been in the auxiliary power business for a long time and says that since the April 29 storm hit the Pittsburgh area. his company has received thousands of calls.

If it sounds like a car or large power starting up, that's pretty much what it is, fueled by a hydrocarbon fuel, natural gas, or propane.

Kicking on when it senses the loss of power, the generator keeps the home office working as well as medical equipment, the air conditioner, and it saves the contents of the refrigerator.

"People have freezers full of food, so there's a lot of there's a lot of loss there with with not having a backup generator," Watt said.

The price tag on the generator depends on how much power you need.

"It comes down to, how many refrigerators are we backing up?" Watt said. "How many air conditioners do you want to operate?"

For the basics, you're talking upwards of $7,000 depending on where you get it and what other costs get added on, so it's a real investment.

For smaller generators that you can get from home improvement or big box stores, many of those types of retailers were wiped out after the storm, so supply is rebuilding. Those kind of generators are a lot cheaper and could cost anywhere from $300 to a couple thousand dollars.