Whole Home Generator

[GolferGal]

So, after my power going out for 2 hours yesterday and I sat in my living room listening to my neighbors whole home generator purr, we are strongly considering getting one installed.

Does anyone have one or have ave any experience with one?

 

[golfinnut]

We have one very similar to this at the beach house. Since our gas is run on propane.

https://www.grainger.com/product/38..._kwcid=AL!2966!3!50916684477!!!g!61865531738!

 

[gonyr]

My next door neighbors have one. They've never had a bad thing to say about it. It runs about 20-30 minutes a week for maintenance purposes. I've thought about getting one, but apparently I'd rather lie on my back in the snow at midnight trying to fix a carburetor while holding a flashlight in one hand when my portable generator won't start.

 

[DataDude]

We have one very similar to this at the beach house. Since our gas is run on propane.

https://www.grainger.com/product/38..._kwcid=AL!2966!3!50916684477!!!g!61865531738!

We have this one. It runs about 20 minutes for maintenance once a week. We have bypassed every power outage since it was installed. Well worth it especially for extended outages.

 

[GolferGal]

I think this is going to end up being more than I am comfortable spending right now. One place quoted $10-$15K, than I come to find out I need the city to run the gas line to my house, which is free, BUT I will need to have a tankless hot water heater installed which is like $3K-$3500 and we JUST replaced our water heater.

 

[MWard]

I think this is going to end up being more than I am comfortable spending right now. One place quoted $10-$15K, than I come to find out I need the city to run the gas line to my house, which is free, BUT I will need to have a tankless hot water heater installed which is like $3K-$3500 and we JUST replaced our water heater.

You won’t really like this answer at the moment, but try waiting come winter time when we are out of hurricane season and the demand for house generators is not as high. The generator you have can make it through the next few months if you need to even use it.

I can’t guarantee this is still a thing, but weren’t there tax rebates and such for installing energy efficient things like a tankless heater? I knew that was a thing for a while but not sure if it’s still a thing with companies like Rinnai etc

 

[GolferGal]

You won’t really like this answer at the moment, but try waiting come winter time when we are out of hurricane season and the demand for house generators is not as high. The generator you have can make it through the next few months if you need to even use it.

I can’t guarantee this is still a thing, but weren’t there tax rebates and such for installing energy efficient things like a tankless heater? I knew that was a thing for a while but not sure if it’s still a thing with companies like Rinnai etc

They offer some benefits, but it won't out weigh the fact that I JUST bought a new one. I can't imagine how this will be affordable, but I call into the gas company to schedule an appt for them to come out to get a better idea on pricing.

 

[DataDude]

I think this is going to end up being more than I am comfortable spending right now. One place quoted $10-$15K, than I come to find out I need the city to run the gas line to my house, which is free, BUT I will need to have a tankless hot water heater installed which is like $3K-$3500 and we JUST replaced our water heater.

One benefit to being in the Kentucky and Indiana area, gas is always run through every street and every builder runs a line into every house so that part is taken care of. We did buy our house with one already installed. They said they were going to take it with them in the disclosure so we asked about it and they offered to leave it for $2000. I looked at the cost of the generator itself was like $4500 so I said "Deal!!!" I remember spending a week with no power in an ice storm up here 6 years ago and another week during a hurricane (yes a hurricane in Louisville, KY LOL!) 7 years ago. I know it has it's own breaker box and everything so I am sure the electrician bill to get it installed was not cheap. I didn't think too much about it though for $2000.

We do not have a tank-less water heater though. If you have to run a gas line to your house for the generator you can probably do a gas water heater for much cheaper than a tank-less unit.

 

[JohnSinVA]

So, after my power going out for 2 hours yesterday and I sat in my living room listening to my neighbors whole home generator purr, we are strongly considering getting one installed.

Does anyone have one or have ave any experience with one?

We have a 17Kw Generac similar to their current offering (no WiFi with ours):

http://www.generac.com/all-products...-7036-16-circuit-transfer-switch-wifi-enabled

We got ours after being powerless for 4 days during a winter storm. My house has propane already and it was just a matter of getting the unit set and tapping into the existing lines. We paid $6-7K total for the unit plus install because we were able to use a guy that did it as a side job. I would agree on waiting it out to the off season if you can stand it. Prices tend to drop when the contractors' work slows down. Rather than getting a NatGas hookup and adding on the water heater are you able to get a propane tank plus delivery service? A 115 gallon tank should last 4-5 days if it's dedicated to the generator. I'm guessing mine burns 1 - 1.5 gal/hr depending on load.

 

[OldandStiff]

They offer some benefits, but it won't out weigh the fact that I JUST bought a new one. I can't imagine how this will be affordable, but I call into the gas company to schedule an appt for them to come out to get a better idea on pricing.

Have you talked to whoever installed your recent one about this? I'm a contractor, and I know a couple of the installers here will buy them back within a certain amount of time if there's a need to upgrade, and they're the ones that do it. It's happened on a couple specs and one custom I've built when the owner wanted to add on shortly after buying. Won't make you whole on it, but can definitely help mitigate the cost.

 

[GolferGal]

One benefit to being in the Kentucky and Indiana area, gas is always run through every street and every builder runs a line into every house so that part is taken care of. We did buy our house with one already installed. They said they were going to take it with them in the disclosure so we asked about it and they offered to leave it for $2000. I looked at the cost of the generator itself was like $4500 so I said "Deal!!!" I remember spending a week with no power in an ice storm up here 6 years ago and another week during a hurricane (yes a hurricane in Louisville, KY LOL!) 7 years ago. I know it has it's own breaker box and everything so I am sure the electrician bill to get it installed was not cheap. I didn't think too much about it though for $2000.

We do not have a tank-less water heater though. If you have to run a gas line to your house for the generator you can probably do a gas water heater for much cheaper than a tank-less unit.

The city requires it to be tankless, it was my first question.

 

[dsw1519]

I can speak to your issue and have gone through this already. We were going to get a whole house generator after Super Storm Sandy came through and we were out of power for a week. At the time we were looking at $10k and up installed. Not wanting to spend that much money, especially given we were only planning to stay in the house a few more years. We came up with plan B, which works well and has been truly great for the few occasions over the last 6 years where we have lost power for more than a few hours. Plan B cost us about $1700 if I recall correctly. This included the portable generator, transfer switch, wiring and installation. Here are some details.

For background we have a 3000 square foot 2 story house in Eastern PA. Full Electric HVAC system for heating/cooling and electric hot water heater. We also have a propane fireplace insert.

We happen to have an electrician we use that is terrific. After getting prices for the whole house generator, I consulted with our electrician for other options. We went with a dual fuel large portable generator similar to this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Champion-750...ocphy=9007206&hvtargid=pla-273852871370&psc=1

We had the electrician wire a transfer switch for us that basically is a mini electrical panel that is wired to the main electrical panel in the house (see pic below). There is a plug located outside under our open porch so we can run the portable generator outside and it is wired to the transfer switch. The transfer switch allows you to choose what parts of the house you want to power. Although going with a generator set up like this doesn't allow us to run the whole house at once, and it is not powerful enough to run the HVAC unit. We have it set up to function like this

Option 1 - Power all rooms (outlets and lights), power refrigerators, TVs, ignition system on the propane fireplace, and microwave. While set like this we can also use a small electric space heater if needed in winter, or high speed fans in the summer.
Option 2 - Power the hot water heater. Our hot water heater will hold water hot enough for 2 days to at least take a warm shower. So for extended power outages we can run this during the day (while option 1 is turned off) to generate enough hot water to last for another 2 days. Once it gets dark, we switch back to option 1 and have power throughout the house.

One great added benefit with having the transfer switch is when we lose power within a few minutes we are powered up again. All I have to do is connect the generator to our propane tank, plug it into the wall outlet under our porch and turn it on. Then go into the basement and flip the switches on the transfer switch to have power again. Another huge benefit is everything is powered through the electrical panel. Otherwise when using a portable generator without the transfer switch you have extension cords running through the house (certainly not ideal and a potential fire hazard).

While our set up does not give us Heat or AC, I can tell you having power, lights and the ability to shower is huge. The propane fireplace is also a big help in winter to help keep the house warm. About 4 years ago we were out of power for 5 days, with the temps in the 20s every day. With the propane fireplace, space heaters and closing off unused rooms we were able to keep the house at 60*. Not ideal but certainly tolerable. I understand this option won't be good for everyone, but it has worked really well for us. I would do this setup again in a heartbeat.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Dave

 

[Jman]

We have a Generac and we love it. One of the big selling points to our house when we bought it since we are out in the country.

 

[OGputtnfool]

I'm lost. If the city requires a tankless water heater, why isn't there already one in the house? How did you get around that with the heater you just installed?

 

[AnthonyC]

I have a generac 16 kW, runs the entire house without deficit. Its natural gas fed. Super easy to maintain as well. It came with the transfer switch, etc. Whole package was around $6k.

 

[Greg Kulbick]

I'm lost. If the city requires a tankless water heater, why isn't there already one in the house? How did you get around that with the heater you just installed?

Probably need it to get the city to run the gas line.

 

[GolferGal]

I'm lost. If the city requires a tankless water heater, why isn't there already one in the house? How did you get around that with the heater you just installed?

They will not run gas to my house without us installing a gas tankless water heater.

 

[GolferGal]

Probably need it to get the city to run the gas line.

Exactly

 

[tahoebum]

We had them install a 24kw natural gas generator when we built our lake home last year. It was about $10k but worth it for the remote area especially when and ice storm can cause a power outage of several days in the winter.

 

[GolferGal]

Have you talked to whoever installed your recent one about this? I'm a contractor, and I know a couple of the installers here will buy them back within a certain amount of time if there's a need to upgrade, and they're the ones that do it. It's happened on a couple specs and one custom I've built when the owner wanted to add on shortly after buying. Won't make you whole on it, but can definitely help mitigate the cost.

Sorry, I missed this earlier. I’m going to get a bunch of quotes and education before making any decisions, but I doubt the plumber who installed ours will buy it back, but certainly can’t hurt to ask if we decide to do it.

 

[PJSprog]

They will not run gas to my house without us installing a gas tankless water heater.

Can you get a small propane tank installed instead?

 

[GolferGal]

Can you get a small propane tank installed instead?

That's the other option, and my mom works for one of the largest propane companies, so I think she can get us a pretty good discount.

 

[JohnSinVA]

That's the other option, and my mom works for one of the largest propane companies, so I think she can get us a pretty good discount.

Sounds like the way to go unless the city throws up roadblocks (like telling you you can’t have a large propane tank when you can get natural gas )

 

[OGputtnfool]

Sounds like the city is getting kickbacks from the tankless water heater guys.