I’m looking into installing a whole house generator. It looks like I’ve got plenty of time to think about it because as with a lot of things these days, most of them aren’t available before August. I’m pretty much going to go with the natural gas powered models with 20kw output. Anything you’ve learned I should know about before I choose?
Whole House Generator
This Old House did a great episode on them probably a decade or so ago... maybe 12 years? After Hurrican Ike tour thru the Ohio Valley I considered getting into the business but couldn't find the right electrician to pair up with.
EDIT: By NY state numbers, and we know how accurate they are, we lose power for 50-90 hours per year. That’s about 1% of the time.
We lose power when there's a heavy dew, so about one-third (and climbing) of the homes in our part of the development have them. Everyone here uses natural gas. That should be good for you and me, but I remember my in-laws lived on the Jersey Shore when Superstorm Sandy hit and people in otherwise good shape lost natural gas after the storm. Lines ruptured, but that's pretty extreme. Most people here have Generacs, which are less expensive than Kohlers. Based on their experiences and my experience with a Generac portable generator and a pressure washer, the brand seems to be quite reliable and just fine. They do require periodic servicing, and they will self-test at a time of your choosing. Sunday mornings seem to be a popular choice around here. Friends of ours who have gone that route usually opt to size it for everything - the incremental costs of adding that capacity are miniscule once you've decided to go that way. They are supposed to put out pretty clean power, especially compared to portable units. You'll want a generator with total harmonic distortion (THD) of less than 5% or else you'll need a power conditioner to avoid damage to sensitive electronics like TVs and computers.
Everyone we know who has one is happy they do. It's on our list - it's just never gotten close enough to the top to get any action.
We lose power when there's a heavy dew, so about one-third (and climbing) of the homes in our part of the development have them. Everyone here uses natural gas. That should be good for you and me, but I remember my in-laws lived on the Jersey Shore when Superstorm Sandy hit and people in otherwise good shape lost natural gas after the storm. Lines ruptured, but that's pretty extreme. Most people here have Generacs, which are less expensive than Kohlers. Based on their experiences and my experience with a Generac portable generator and a pressure washer, the brand seems to be quite reliable and just fine. They do require periodic servicing, and they will self-test at a time of your choosing. Sunday mornings seem to be a popular choice around here. Friends of ours who have gone that route usually opt to size it for everything - the incremental costs of adding that capacity are miniscule once you've decided to go that way. They are supposed to put out pretty clean power, especially compared to portable units. You'll want a generator with total harmonic distortion (THD) of less than 5% or else you'll need a power conditioner to avoid damage to sensitive electronics like TVs and computers.
Everyone we know who has one is happy they do. It's on our list - it's just never gotten close enough to the top to get any action.
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I’m no help. I do have a couple Honda “portable” generators, I believe they are 5k Watts? I’m too lazy to check the garage but that sounds right? I figure they’ll power the important stuff.
One at the house for regular emergencies. One at my bunker for real f’in emergencies,
. That ones wired to run it all. Also being 20ft underground and vented 200ft away, you cannot here it running and since it vents 30ft down a sheer 60ft wall, good luck finding that.
Anyways if I have any advice, I don’t even know if they do full house ones, but Honda’s are the quietest from everything I had learned. I may be wrong, it’s been a several years ago purchase but that and their ability to run for virtually ever turned me on to them.
If the real apocalypse hits, I don’t want something I don’t trust. I service them and run them 4 times a year. I don’t even do that with my car,
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One at the house for regular emergencies. One at my bunker for real f’in emergencies,
. That ones wired to run it all. Also being 20ft underground and vented 200ft away, you cannot here it running and since it vents 30ft down a sheer 60ft wall, good luck finding that. Anyways if I have any advice, I don’t even know if they do full house ones, but Honda’s are the quietest from everything I had learned. I may be wrong, it’s been a several years ago purchase but that and their ability to run for virtually ever turned me on to them.
If the real apocalypse hits, I don’t want something I don’t trust. I service them and run them 4 times a year. I don’t even do that with my car,
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Whole-House generator is on the list. Way higher on mine than the wife's. 
But in 5 years here and through 2 hurricanes and a couple other tropical storms, we've only lost power once.
Still, I've little confidence in the grid or how areas may incorporate rolling blackouts in the future. Extreme, but for peace of mind I'd like things in place already.
But in 5 years here and through 2 hurricanes and a couple other tropical storms, we've only lost power once.
Still, I've little confidence in the grid or how areas may incorporate rolling blackouts in the future. Extreme, but for peace of mind I'd like things in place already.
Whole-House generator is on the list. Way higher on mine than the wife's.
But in 5 years here and through 2 hurricanes and a couple other tropical storms, we've only lost power once.
Still, I've little confidence in the grid or how areas may incorporate rolling blackouts in the future. Extreme, but for peace of mind I'd like things in place already.
Not extreme. Smart. Me having a bunker in the wilderness somewhere nearby’ish? maybe a little extreme.
But in fairness to me I was expecting the zombie apocalypse, not this one. May still get lucky and get it!
I’m used to roughing it so I figure 5k Watts at home and I won’t be missing a thing. I’ll have the fridge and freezer ran. I’ll have heat if needed. Probably not A/C but I’m shaded with lots of windows, how soft I have grown,
. Plus I can run the fan still? 
Leaving at the beach, it’s a major consideration. Generac seems to be the industry leader.
Not soft. I'm soft.Not extreme. Smart. Me having a bunker in the wilderness somewhere nearby’ish? maybe a little extreme.
But in fairness to me I was expecting the zombie apocalypse, not this one. May still get lucky and get it!
I’m used to roughing it so I figure 5k Watts at home and I won’t be missing a thing. I’ll have the fridge and freezer ran. I’ll have heat if needed. Probably not A/C but I’m shaded with lots of windows, how soft I have grown,. Plus I can run the fan still?
. Plus I can run the fan still? 
A/C or bust!!!
On the plus side that bunker you built could used for bunker practice?? Hahahahaha lol , ohhh not that kinda bunkerNot extreme. Smart. Me having a bunker in the wilderness somewhere nearby’ish? maybe a little extreme.
But in fairness to me I was expecting the zombie apocalypse, not this one. May still get lucky and get it!
I’m used to roughing it so I figure 5k Watts at home and I won’t be missing a thing. I’ll have the fridge and freezer ran. I’ll have heat if needed. Probably not A/C but I’m shaded with lots of windows, how soft I have grown,
Sounds like in some parts of US due to irregular supply issues and also weather events l imagine ? That power supplies are supplemented? By generators etc...On the plus side that bunker you built could used for bunker practice?? Hahahahaha lol , ohhh not that kinda bunker
In Aus , not so much in terms of power supply issues ( if so it more a local event as in car hit pole or component failure ) not longer term stuff , and weather events are very much few and far between that effects my Locale .
On the plus side that bunker you built could used for bunker practice?? Hahahahaha lol , ohhh not that kinda bunker
I mean, you could try to flop shot out of it? Assuming I haven’t blown the primary entrance at that point?
We considered this as well, a few years ago when our house was still pretty new. We used to lose power from strongish (for this area winds), once lost for several days. As we inquired and investigated more, we noticed that the down time was getting lower and lower. Ended up buying a portable from Costco - that runs on LP or Gasoline. Since purchased - we have never used it - I guess things are getting better. But, I keep it and will move with it when we depart for retirement (SC coast hopefully). For me/us, keep fridge/freezer on, and maybe a few other things - fans, or TV etc - not everything and not everything at one time.
For us, in this area (for now anyway) it was much better way to spend the money. I assume you have considered this as well?
For us, in this area (for now anyway) it was much better way to spend the money. I assume you have considered this as well?
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I just moved into this house. My last two homes were new and all the power lines were underground. We never lost power. My new neighbor told me they lost power for 4 days after a storm last year. This new house has a finished basement and I’d hate to lose a sump pump due to a power outage and see it flood.
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Proper sizing is the most improvement... This article will help:
I have a generac 16.5 kw for 4 years now. Its natural gas, whole house.
I wanted something to run everything in my house without a deficit. The salesman did a walk through, made calculations based on output and natural gas consumption, and came up with that model.
It seems that generac had the best residential model for my use, after i looked into a few other brands.
I service it once a year, and the oil is always very clean, due to NG. Its not too loud, and kicks on in about 3 seconds.
The transfer switch was included with my generator.
I'm happy with it
I wanted something to run everything in my house without a deficit. The salesman did a walk through, made calculations based on output and natural gas consumption, and came up with that model.
It seems that generac had the best residential model for my use, after i looked into a few other brands.
I service it once a year, and the oil is always very clean, due to NG. Its not too loud, and kicks on in about 3 seconds.
The transfer switch was included with my generator.
I'm happy with it
I understand perfectly. We also have a sump pump, and it actually needed to be replaced. To ensure that it was done right I had to pump out all the accumulated water - it was several 100 gallons based on how long the submersible pump ran with a hose to the street. My issue was not related to power, but my point is with the french drains we had, a lot of water could accumulate before reaching the danger of basement flooding - it was ironic too - we checked the sump pump for something else and discovered the 'well' it was in was full of water. That said, your area may be more prone to issues - and if this helps you sleep better - I surely understand. For us, also all lines underground - the portable was just a better option.
Lou W
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We randomly loose power, and the incidents are increasing. If the wind blows over 30 mph sdg&e cuts power to some circuits. I got a 4K portable that I use for fridg, 2 small chest freezers and an odd light or two.
We put in a whole house unit several years for a couple reasons. 1st we lost power often at that time. Big oil boom in our area has put a huge load on the existing systems. 2nd my wife was doing injections for RA. We always had a months supply of them in fridge. We didn’t want to take a chance on a long term outage if we were traveling. System works flawlessly. Generac 22kw
We live very near to the edge of our service area. On the other side, they have overhead lines, a different utility, and almost never lose power. We have underground power lines and a 6500W Generac portable generator because we do lose power a lot (~1% of the time), as noted in an earlier post.) It usually starts on the first pull, is quiet, and on average runs eight hours on a full tank. I bought a manual transfer switch but never installed it, and it would make my life easier. Right now, when the power goes out, this is the drill:
Our big fear is what happens if we lose power for an extended period while we are away, as @Jaw2000 noted. We could be toast if we were without heat, sump pumps or refrigeration for a day or two. So the standby idea is still on our list. We aren't getting any younger.
I will point out that there are water-operated emergency sump pumps. These are powered by city water, activate automatically by a level switch, and use two gallons of city water for every gallon of sump water removed. There is a downside. Our newly widowed neighbor called me one late spring day and said she had just received something like an $1100 water bill, about 15x what it should have been. I went over, looked around the house, and heard no evidence of water running – until I heard water running for a few seconds and stop. It came from the sump pump, but it sounded different, like water turning on and off. I went to the sound and she said her late husband had installed something as a backup. It was a water operated pump, which had been working well for what must have been the several months since the electrically powered one had failed. Like everything else of this nature, sump pumps need to be checked periodically.
- Call my utility’s power outage number, which I know by heart. I am invariably the first to report the outage.
- Call back in fifteen minutes, at which point they will give the number of homes affected (it’s always within a range of +/- 50 customers) and an estimated restoration time, which they will beat over 95% of the time (they get a lot of practice.)
- If the conditions aren’t too extreme, I wait about 90 minutes, drag out the generator, pigtail, and extension cords out of the garage, fill the generator, throw the main breaker at the breaker box, connect what I want – boiler or AC, refrigerator, lights, sump pump, TV/internet if available – and start the generator.
- The last three times I dragged out the generator, the power came back on as I was either
- gripping the pull cord;
- reattaching the gas cap; or
- plugging in the pigtail
- After the outage, I have to reverse everything I did.
Our big fear is what happens if we lose power for an extended period while we are away, as @Jaw2000 noted. We could be toast if we were without heat, sump pumps or refrigeration for a day or two. So the standby idea is still on our list. We aren't getting any younger.
I will point out that there are water-operated emergency sump pumps. These are powered by city water, activate automatically by a level switch, and use two gallons of city water for every gallon of sump water removed. There is a downside. Our newly widowed neighbor called me one late spring day and said she had just received something like an $1100 water bill, about 15x what it should have been. I went over, looked around the house, and heard no evidence of water running – until I heard water running for a few seconds and stop. It came from the sump pump, but it sounded different, like water turning on and off. I went to the sound and she said her late husband had installed something as a backup. It was a water operated pump, which had been working well for what must have been the several months since the electrically powered one had failed. Like everything else of this nature, sump pumps need to be checked periodically.
I have a beach house and many of our neighbors have generators. I have thought about getting one. The big issue for me is the sump pump when the power goes out. The basement is totally unfinished and we don't store much down there but it is a pain when it it floods because the sump doesn't work.
Our main reason for the generator was our sump pumps. Our house was built on a spring, which is lovely (not). Pumps fire every 15 min. In a major storm, both my wife and I get ordered into work (nurse and firefighter). We need to protect our house since we won't be here to help mitigate any issues.
I mean, you could try to flop shot out of it? Assuming I haven’t blown the primary entrance at that point?
self destruct sequence initiated ,,,, 10 -9-8-......
Nope. Instant. Don’t push the red button that says “DO NO PUSH” at the fallback position of a bunker. Not unless you already got the shovels and an escape hatch (where do you think the generator is?).
Et Tu Brute?
Well-known member
I've often thought it would be good to have one for peace of mind but in 20+ years in our current house, our longest outage was about 36 hours. Other than that, never out more than 5-6 hours and even that has only happened 3-4 times.
Just hard to justify the expense for a less-than-once-in-a-decade eventuality.
The house we lived in for a decade before this one was almost supernaturally immune to power outages. Not counting the occasional thunderstorm thing where it flickers and maybe goes out for a few seconds at a time, the only time we actually lost power was during Hurricane Hugo. It went out around midnight and was back up by mid-morning.
I think the key was, we lived up on top of a hill with very few trees and could literally stand on our driveway and see 1/4 mile away down the hill where our subdivisions power lines ran into a ginormous substation. There was nothing that could possible fall onto a power line between us and the substation, only chance was maybe a lightning strike on a distribution transformer. During that hurricane the substation itself lost power from further up the grid.
Just hard to justify the expense for a less-than-once-in-a-decade eventuality.
The house we lived in for a decade before this one was almost supernaturally immune to power outages. Not counting the occasional thunderstorm thing where it flickers and maybe goes out for a few seconds at a time, the only time we actually lost power was during Hurricane Hugo. It went out around midnight and was back up by mid-morning.
I think the key was, we lived up on top of a hill with very few trees and could literally stand on our driveway and see 1/4 mile away down the hill where our subdivisions power lines ran into a ginormous substation. There was nothing that could possible fall onto a power line between us and the substation, only chance was maybe a lightning strike on a distribution transformer. During that hurricane the substation itself lost power from further up the grid.