A sump pump is a great choice for your home’s basement or crawl space. Essentially, a sump pump is a tool that pumps water out of the basement or crawl space. Most basements or crawl spaces require a sump pump for issues with the waterproofing and any problems that might occur with flooding in the area.
If you want to make sure your sump pump is as effective as possible, you’re going to want a backup sump pump to go along with your current sump pump. However, a lot of homeowners have never really learned about backup sump pumps and don’t know what they are for. Here’s what you should know about backup sump pumps for your home.
Backup Sump Pump Systems and Designs
One thing that can be helpful to understand about backup sump pumps is the fact that there are actually many different types. There’s not just a single type of backup sump pump. Instead, there are typically four different types of sump pump power systems. These are the different power systems that a sump pump might rely on.
- AC-Powered Sump Pumps
This is what most people tend to think about when they think about sump pumps. AC is a form of electricity; when you have an AC-powered sump pump, it’s going to plug into a typical wall outlet, typically far above the ground level so there’s no risk of water flowing into the outlet.
It’s common for the primary sump pump to have AC power. The primary sump pump will typically rely on AC power so it’s able to turn on and off at any time and you don’t have to worry about battery replacement. However, the main downfall of this is that if your home loses electricity for any reason or someone unplugs the sump pump, it will stop working. This is why other methods of backup sump pump power may be important for you.
- Generator-Powered Sump Pumps
A generator-powered sump pump relies on the same backup power that someone might rely on for the whole home. Essentially, with a generator-powered sump pump, you will have either a secondary sump pump that has a generator to power it or you’ll have a generator for the plug that the sump pump goes into. If the power goes out for some reason, the generator will turn on, powering the sump pump.
This can be an incredibly useful tool for the same reason that a generator for the entire home can be an incredibly useful tool. Essentially, it protects against the problems you might run into if you experience a break in power for whatever reason. Because sump pumps typically work during storms, a generator can be a useful way to ensure your sump pump continues to work.
- Water-Powered Sump Pumps
This is an interesting form of powering a sump pump. Water-powered sump pumps require absolutely no power. The sump pump has a unique construction that allows the pressure of the water pressing against the sump pump to power the water going up through the pump.
Not all areas are going to be able to utilize a water-powered sump pump. There are a variety of reasons why a water-powered sump pump might not be the most effective one in your area. However, if you’re looking for a way to ensure your sump pump always works, even in the case of an electricity outage, you might want to talk to a sump pump expert about this option.
- Battery-Backup Sump Pumps
Most of the time, your best option is going to be to have a battery-backup sump pump. This is either a secondary sump pump with a battery attachment or an attachment on your primary sump pump that includes a battery of some kind. This backup allows your sump pump to continue working even if you end up with a power outage, whether it affects the whole home or not.
One of the reasons this is so effective is the fact that it typically doesn’t require a reworking of your sump pump process. You can have a normal sump pump that just happens to be able to use battery power for a period of time. Your sump pump will work like normal through the electricity system but will be able to continue working even if the electricity shuts off.
The SafeDri™ Backup System
The SafeDri™ backup sump pump system is a great option for your sump pump backup. There are a number of reasons for that. If you’ve finally made the decision to look into sump pump backup systems, you might want to consider SafeDri™ for that backup. Here are three significant reasons that the SafeDri™ backup system is so effective for the basement or crawl space.
- Gallons Pumped
The first thing to look at for a backup sump pump system is how many gallons of water the system can pump on its battery backup. You need the system to be able to keep pumping for a long period of time; you have no idea how long it’ll need to function. The SafeDri™ battery backup on its own can pump 1,850 gallons of water per hour.
- Alarm During Run Period
It’s always good for you to know that your backup sump pump has kicked in. If there’s no reason for the pump to have turned on, it’ll give you an advance warning that you should probably take a look at the sump pump. If you know why it’s turned on, you’ll at least be able to mark when it turns on. The SafeDri™ sounds off when the battery turns on and can even notify you through your home alarm system.
- Additional Battery Life
There’s really no such thing as too much protection when it comes to your home; a flooded basement can end up being hugely damaging and cost thousands of dollars to fix. Although a single battery backup is already enough to keep your basement dry for the most part, you can add an additional battery to the SafeDri™ system, which will allow you to pump for more than twice as long.
How to Keep Your Basement Dry
So, what can you do to keep your basement dry? As you might have imagined, a lot of it comes down to how you use your sump pump. There are a number of things you can do with your sump pump that will cover different potential problems you might run into. Here’s what you need to know about the three different common types of sump pumps that you might use and how they can help you maintain the health of your basement.
- Primary Sump Pump
Your primary sump pump is one of the most important parts of your basement or crawl space waterproofing. The primary sump pump is the thing you’ll typically be talking about when you’re discussing the concept of adding a sump pump to your basement or crawl space.
This is great if you have normal rainfall, a pipe that’s burst in your home, or general problems with hydrostatic pressure. However, a single primary sump pump might not be enough if you have an especially large home or if you regularly deal with extremely heavy rain. A sump pump expert will be able to let you know if a single sump pump might not fit the bill for your home.
- Secondary Sump Pump
Although many homes only need one sump pump, there are some homes that can benefit from a secondary sump pump. Typically, a secondary sump pump will be exactly the same as the primary sump pump, sometimes with less robust specs, but it can be in a different area of the crawl space or basement, or even included in the existing sump liner if it is large enough. It helps with the primary sump pump.
This is most helpful if you have a very large under-home space or if you often get very heavy rain that might overwhelm the primary pump. At this point, a secondary sump pump could help the primary sump pump. It can also take over if the primary sump pump has a failure issue like becoming clogged with debris. Though it’s not exactly common, it can be a very smart choice.
- Battery-Backup Sump Pump
Even in homes that don’t have especially large under-home spaces or that don’t get a lot of rainfall, it’s a good move to add a battery-backup sump pump. That’s because the battery backup does a lot of work, including helping if the home experiences a power failure. Power failure tends to be something that can happen with storms, which makes a battery backup even more crucial.
Battery-backup sump pumps are a great way to ensure that your home doesn’t have to worry about flooding in the basement even in the worst-case scenario. Plus, it gives you an extra sump pump to lean on in cases of pump failure; a primary, secondary, and battery-backup sump pump will give you essentially three different chances to maintain your basement.
Backup Sump Pumps
FAQs
A sump pump is supposed to keep your basement or crawl space as dry as possible. Most homeowners assume that just adding a sump pump to the basement will be enough to make sure the basement stays dry. Here’s what you need to know about just using a single sump pump to keep your basement from having flooding problems.
- During Normal Functioning
When your sump pump is functioning normally, it’s true that the sump pump will probably be enough to keep the basement dry. Most of the time, a sump pump will be able to pump substantially more water than whatever’s coming into your basement or crawl space. If you have an especially large basement or crawl space, you might need more than one, but for the most part, one will be more than enough.
Of course, this is not to say that the typical sump pump will not have its issues. There are plenty of things that can go wrong with an average, plastic sump pump. Indeed, these pumps are quite prone to clogging, freezing over and clogging even more, breaking down, or even melting when overworked. It is best to get a more reliable sump pump system you know will waterproof your home no matter what the circumstances.
- During Issues with the Power
What if you’re having issues with the power, though? Most sump pumps work through a plug system. This helps ensure that the sump pump will never run out of battery; it can stay on as much or as little as you need it to, depending on your water problems. The issue is that in the case of a power problem, the pump won’t work. Regardless of what that problem is, a battery backup will help.
A battery-powered sump pump is your best waterproofing option. You will not have to worry about your pump running out of power during the moment you need it most. The pump will alert you when it is running on low battery, so you will know when to call us to change it. We can also easily install a back-up battery pack to the sump pump so that you will have an extra boost of power in case the first battery dies in the middle of a large storm.
A secondary sump pump or a sump pump battery backup can both be important parts of your sump pump process. However, the problem is that many homeowners don’t seem to understand why you would add more than one sump pump to your basement or crawl space. Here’s what you should know about the benefits of different secondary sump pump processes.
- Benefits of a Battery Backup
The main benefit of a battery backup for your sump pump is that you can make sure your sump pump will work regardless of any issues you might experience with the power. A battery backup will be one of the first things you’ll want to be able to rely on when you’re having power problems. It can even help if someone unplugs the sump pump, then forgets to plug the pump back in.
A battery backup also ensures that your pump will only rely on its own source of power, so you do not have to waste power with a sump pump you need to keep constantly plugged-in in case of an emergency. Our sump pump also has a comprehensive alert system to let you know when its battery is running out as well.
- Benefits of a Secondary Sump Pump
In some basements or crawl spaces, you might need a secondary sump pump. This secondary sump pump is especially useful if you have a very large basement or crawl space that may need more than the maximum pumping speed on your primary sump pump. This additional pump can cover far more ground and redirect more water away from your home than the single pump alone.
It can also help if you have any problems with your primary sump pump. An additional sump pump can activate should the first fail in any way. Clogging, battery or other power issues, and even overworking might cause your primary sump pump to fail. At least with an additional sump pump installed, you will not have to worry about your basement being flooded on top of needing sump pump repairs.
You might hear people refer to the benefits of using a sump pump in the basement or in the crawl space. Both of these areas can utilize sump pumps, but they’re likely going to utilize them in different ways. Whether your home has a basement or a crawl space, here’s what you need to know about putting a sump pump in your under-home area.
- Crawl Space
The crawl space tends to be much shorter and narrower than the basement, which can lead to some homeowners dismissing it as “less important.” As a matter of fact, it’s as important to maintain your crawl space as it is to maintain your basement. A crawl space sump pump can be a crucial part of that.
Your crawl space is full of crucial systems that absolutely cannot have moisture on them whatsoever. This includes your HVAC system, your plumbing, your electrical wiring, your foundation and so much more. This is why it is so important to keep this space completely dry. You cannot risk any of these systems being damaged and wrecking other things around your home.
- Basement
The basement needs a sump pump because it tends to have things in it. Regardless of whether you’re using your basement as a storage system, it’s a good idea to have a sump pump in it, but the storage aspect tends to be why people will install a sump pump.
Even if you end up not using your basement for much, it is still a major pain to have to manually drain out your basement by yourself. Carrying out buckets of water in and out of your basement is not the best solution! Instead, invest in getting a sump pump for your basement so that you will never have to worry about walking into a flood ever again.
The sump pump installation is a crucial part of ensuring that your home functions properly. You can’t install your sump pump inappropriately and then assume it’ll keep your home safe. Instead, you need to make sure the sump pump works from the very beginning. Here’s how you can ensure your sump pump works appropriately.
- DIY Installation
DIY can be a great option for many things around your home. However, sump pump installation is definitely not one of them. A sump pump needs a variety of technical elements to function appropriately, which means a DIY fix is almost certainly going to mess one of those things up.
Additionally, sump pumps you buy from a home improvement store all tend to not be powerful enough to keep the strongest storms at bay. At best, they might provide temporary relief from smaller volumes of water that might hit your home. Overall, though, it is best to go with a sump pump you know will keep your house totally safe and dry, even during a raging storm.
- An Expert’s Help
Instead of opting for a DIY installation, you can use an expert’s assistance to set up a sump pump more effectively. Talk to a sump pump expert from Innovative Basement Authority to learn more about your options and set up a consultation today.
Innovative Basement Authority’s experts have plenty of experience handling all sorts of basement or crawl space waterproofing issues. This includes leaking, constant flooding, and inadequate sump pump coverage. We can install a brand-new sump pump that will work to keep your basement or crawl space completely dry for years to come!
Make Your Home Safer with a Backup Sump Pump from Innovative Basement Authority
A backup sump pump is one of the best ways to make your home safer. Innovative Basement Authority can help you with safety for your home overall, and one of the things it might be able to help with is your sump pump. More than likely, you need more stability than whatever you have from your current sump pump. Innovative Basement Authority makes it possible for you to enhance your home’s safety.
Whether you currently have a sump pump and you just want to add a battery backup or you have no sump pump in your home at all, Innovative Basement Authority can help. You can schedule a free consultation with Innovative Basement Authority to learn more about your options and get information on why a battery backup could be crucial for your home specifically.
Don’t wait until your basement or crawl space has serious water problems to enhance your waterproofing protection. Do it early on. With Innovative Basement Authority’s information, you’ll be able to protect your basement as easily as possible.
