Home Generators-Anyone Have The Type that's Wired In?

[barkley]

we are thinking about getting one of the units that is both wired into the house and plumbed into the propane tank.

definatly not a cheap investment, but we've had 2 winters out of the last 3 with multiple day power outages. without power we've got no heat or water, so it ends up with us having to motel it (IF-the snow is'nt so bad that we can't get out). even if we get one that just lasts several hours everything in the household comes to a standstill-it get's so freaking dark so early in the winters, and those camp lanterns are not the best when kids have a load of homework.


so anyone got one? pros/cons? do you find that if nothing else, it provides peace of mind?

 

[eeyore65]

We have one for hurricanes. Ours is hooked up to the natural gas line. I love it! As soon as the power goes out 2 minutes later it all comes back on. We put it in when we built our house - so it powers the whole house. We had one installed at our old house and we were able to pick what we wanted to power, so we had a much smaller, cheaper permanent generator. My parents put one in up North for snow storms and they also love the peace of mind it gives them. My Dad is diabetic and he needs refrigeration and light for injections. So no negatives, other then the cost! Oh and I hear on propane - it really sucks propane so you need a big tank and you could run out if you went a long time without power - like in a hurricane.

 

[DVC-Don]

We've got a Generac standby generator that runs off our natural gas line. We put it in after two winter power failures. Have had it for 4 years now without any problems. When the power goes out it waits 20 seconds and then starts. After another 20 seconds if the power is still off it automatically switches over. So, after 40 seconds our power is back on and I did not even have to get out of my chair or bed.

 

[barkley]

thankfuly we don't get hurricanes but i number crunched how much propane it would take to run the one we are looking at with the full load as well as mid load and our current propane tank, even if we were to run at full load 24/7 would last a full week. i talked to the propane company though, and they will swap out our current tank for one double it's size at no cost-so if we bite the bullet and go for it we'll probably go ahead with the larger tank (then if we don't have power outages we will only have to buy propane once a year).

 

[barkley]

We've got a Generac standby generator that runs off our natural gas line. We put it in after two winter power failures. Have had it for 4 years now without any problems. When the power goes out it waits 20 seconds and then starts. After another 20 seconds if the power is still off it automatically switches over. So, after 40 seconds our power is back on and I did not even have to get out of my chair or bed.

that's the brand our contractor reccommended, and we're looking at the same type. sounds like it would be a godsend as compared to some of the portable type generators our neighbors have-the last thing we need to be doing is dealing with gasoline in a dark, freezing garage and then worrying if we are properly venting (and i suspect to truly vent correctly, the additional cold it would subject our garage to would cause the pipes in their to freeze).


thanks to everyone sharing-i like making informed decisions.

 

[golfgal]

If I lived in an area prone to power outages, I would seriously consider something like that. Have you figured out a rate of return compared to your hotel costs, extra expenses for eating out, extra mileage to work, etc. and how long it would take to recoup the costs as compared to the lifespan of a generator? Even then I would probably do it just for the simple convenience of not having to move out for a week or more every winter.

 

[GeorgeG]

When we moved here five years ago I was determined to have an emergency generator installed. As it turned out, I never did. Luckily, our power has only gone out a few times and for a short duration. If we were more prone to power outages I would definitley stop procrastinating and get a generator. The hard-wired type powered off our gas service would be my choice.

 

[barkley]

If I lived in an area prone to power outages, I would seriously consider something like that. Have you figured out a rate of return compared to your hotel costs, extra expenses for eating out, extra mileage to work, etc. and how long it would take to recoup the costs as compared to the lifespan of a generator? Even then I would probably do it just for the simple convenience of not having to move out for a week or more every winter.

i was driving dh crazy with my number crunching on this very issue yesterday because we've had to motel it i know with very good accuracy how much it costs us to be out of the house. IF we can get to a motel (not a given depending on the snow), i have to look at the lodging cost, meals (kept at bare minimum with the help of a mini fridge, microwave and free breakfast at the place we would always use), and coin laundry. the generator's propane cost to run for 24 hours would be well over 50% less per day. as far as mileage-there would be a savings as well. not for the issue of work, but for the issue of the kids/school. we live right on the district border so if we have to motel it we have to get the kids back to the bus stop by our house or we are looking at a long drive to get them to their schools (and unless the school is without power, so long as those roads are accessable to the buses they will be in session).

in reality it would take us years to recoup the costs through the cost savings factor, but the peace of mind factor is what's realy appealing to me. the idea that if need be, we could be self sustaining for a couple of weeks on end is great.

 

[agnes!]

I would think a generator would be a nice plus when you go to sell your house... Power outages here right now, not many, but still...Tropical storm strength rain and wind gusts, the remnants of Nicole are pinwheeling off of the ocean and moving up the coast.

agnes!

 

[golfgal]

i was driving dh crazy with my number crunching on this very issue yesterday because we've had to motel it i know with very good accuracy how much it costs us to be out of the house. IF we can get to a motel (not a given depending on the snow), i have to look at the lodging cost, meals (kept at bare minimum with the help of a mini fridge, microwave and free breakfast at the place we would always use), and coin laundry. the generator's propane cost to run for 24 hours would be well over 50% less per day. as far as mileage-there would be a savings as well. not for the issue of work, but for the issue of the kids/school. we live right on the district border so if we have to motel it we have to get the kids back to the bus stop by our house or we are looking at a long drive to get them to their schools (and unless the school is without power, so long as those roads are accessable to the buses they will be in session).

in reality it would take us years to recoup the costs through the cost savings factor, but the peace of mind factor is what's realy appealing to me. the idea that if need be, we could be self sustaining for a couple of weeks on end is great.

That alone for me would be enough to justify the cost. In the past 10+ years we have been without power for about 4 hours, total-3 of those hours happened not long ago when someone had a stroke driving a car and ran into a transformer knocking out power to our area.

 

[dawson5]

After this summer, our neighbor got fed up. We had three outages over a 10 day span. We didn't have power for five of those days total. There are about 250 homes in our subdivision, half of us are on a different grid. We can look across the street and they have power and we don't. We had numerous outages and finally were able to bring this to the attention of the electric company and they realized this finally. They sent a crew to find out why and to make sure branches were cleared away from the lines. (A few years ago we were without power for at least a day, because a tree came down on a line and the people whose property it was, would not let the crews onto their property to repair the line. Police were actually involved.)

ETA: She works from home, needs her pc and internet. Her husband a lot of the time works from home also.

My neighbor installed this:

http://www.backupgenerators.com/Gil...-w-Standard-Housing-SPS-120.html?feed=Froogle

She spent a lot of time researching (queen of researchers I swear) and when she narrowed down what she wanted to buy, she chose that one because it was made locally. She wanted to keep our "neighbors" in work.

Every week it turns on for about 10 minutes. It can be loud.

Neighbors on the other side just have a Honda generator. When the power goes out, he plugs it in and they at least have fridge, stove and tv. I don't think they have the suicide switch installed, so they are without water for that time. We all have wells, cannot plug the well into it, have to have it hard-wired in. It is loud also.

 

[eeyore65]

I find it really hard to do the cost analysis in a hurricane area. We could go 20 years without really "needing" the generator. But...having been without power for almost 3 weeks in one hurricane, and no hotels we could get to with power or vacancy, the peace of mind was worth it!

 

[SandrA9810]

I can understand the benefit of these generators for those with medical needs, as well in the north with snow storms that could literally freeze some one to death. I don't understand why people think it's a big deal when a hurricane knocks the power out in Florida. Most the time, there's such a large release in the pressure that it causes the temperature to drop after the storm passes. You can survive without air conditioning. Many other people throw in the benefit to not wasting food out of the fridge. But take some time ahead, and you won't need to throw away everything in there. And most stuff can last a couple days in an ice chest. But even a stocked fridge, you're look at a 100-200$ worth of food... it'll take ten years before the cost of that generator is made up in savings for the food. Plus it gives you a good reason to finally go through all that stuff that's crammed in the back corners, left there to be forgotten about.

Generators are the last thing on my mind when a hurricane is approaching. And the portable ones are the ones killing people after the storm, not the storm itself.

 

[mrsbert]

I find it really hard to do the cost analysis in a hurricane area. We could go 20 years without really "needing" the generator. But...having been without power for almost 3 weeks in one hurricane, and no hotels we could get to with power or vacancy, the peace of mind was worth it!

My big joke is, now that we've got one, we'll never have a hurricane. Everyone in Louisiana can thank me.

My DH is a police officer in our town and has to stay during a disaster. We are far enough away from water that I feel safe staying home. After Hurricane Katrina, we were out of power for 3 weeks. No hotels within 400 miles. We are prepared now.