Whole house generator

[ThaBeast]

Looking to add one this year for peace of mind with my 400 build. Any recommendations? I have a small (2000 sq ft) 10 yr old custom built single level home. We have a natural gas furnace & water heater so it won't be an issue for fuel.

I was looking at some 20kw units with load shedding. I was going to put load shedding on the stove and dryer rather than the central air...and yes my wife is on board with that set up.

 

[Reefing Madness]

 

[dragon99]

I was looking at the Generac 22kW unit. It's very fuel efficient for it's size. The quote I got was ~$8k installed.

With that size you shouldn't have to worry about load, that would cover your entire home.

 

[ThaBeast]

I was looking at the generac as well.

 

[dmcoates]

I have a 16kw Honeywell ( generac) I got from Costco. We have a 3200 sq ft house. We had the generac installer come do a sizing at the house before we purchased the unit. We have gas heat and all gas appliances for the 16kw was just right. One thing to keep in mind is they will most likely have to run gas line from your meter to the genarator. So the intall will be as much as the unit if we want the warranty. The fine print on the generac is if you want the warranty a generac rep has to installed it.

 

[RWinfrey]

I also have a 16k it takes care of my whole hose no problem the generac is rated for a 5 ton ac . I also have the smart switch . My electrician had my buy the unit online and he installed it .I called generac they told me any licensed electrician can do the install and it will be covered warranty wise.

 

[JMM744]

Having a Briggs and Stratton 20k set up now. Never going to have to worry about power outages in the crountry while away again. Have around 7/7.5 grand in it. Check consumer reports for ratings. B&S was third but still a good unit. Generac was second. Can't remember number 1. I run up to 5 freezers in my business so it's really peace of mind and the reef tanks get to share in it as a bonus. Most new home builds out around me are including a whole house generator.

 

[KStatefan]

I have purchased two Generacs for work. One is about 7 years old and has not had any issues the second one is only a year old.

 

[ca1ore]

I'm having a 20K stand-by installed. Been using a gasoline-powered portable for decades, but with all my business travel, I concluded I really do need an automated unit. Spent some nail-biting days in Las Vegas this past March hoping that the sequential nor'easters wouldn't kill the power. The only one that did, for 36 hours, was the one I WAS home for. Phew! Enough phew! I travel too much and the weather is getting worse .........

Required ripping apart the planting bed, but I'm crap at growing garden stuff anyhow (plus the dog keeps digging them up).

 

[Mark Bianco]

I have a 17k Generac 5 yrs now. Never an issue and it will run the whole house with air conditioning.

Here is one thing you may want to check on. I run mine with natural gas. Now I had a standard meter / regulator. The generator required more something or other to supply the correct cfm or pressure of gas. Was a pain to get that. First had to contact the gas company engineers. They did a usage evaluation. Then they said I need a different meter / regulator. 2 weeks process. Then I scheduled for them to come out another week. The worst part is they charged 500.00 to install the new meter. So be aware you nay need to do this as well...

 

[BluTang85]

I have a Generac 8k on my house and i can run quite a bit of stuff off it. It def keeps me at ease when i go on vacation.

 

[cracker]

would be very nice. !just can't see spending the money . No more worries at all. So how long would a large natural gas or propane tank last?

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

Looking to add one this year for peace of mind with my 400 build. Any recommendations? I have a small (2000 sq ft) 10 yr old custom built single level home. We have a natural gas furnace & water heater so it won't be an issue for fuel.

I was looking at some 20kw units with load shedding. I was going to put load shedding on the stove and dryer rather than the central air...and yes my wife is on board with that set up.

If you can get bi-fuel (propane/natrual gas). Have propane tank as reserve. Use natrual gas as main fuel. Or if possible tri-fuel. Gasoline, natrual gas, propane. I'm jealous, wish I had one. Or do emergency generator for only aquarium and some. Just a thought.

 

[BluTang85]

I have a Generac 8k on my house and i can run quite a bit of stuff off it. It def keeps me at ease when i go on vacation.

 

[ca1ore]

Yes, not an inexpensive proposition; particularly where I live where gas service is a pipe dream (pun intended). Three ugly gas cylinders is what put me off the whole thing in the past, but just not willing to risk it anymore. I'm told for the Kohler unit that 300 gallons of propane lasts about 7 days.

Trying to decide whether to keep the portable as backup for the backup. I'm big on redundancy.