Home Generator Recommendations

[MYRX]

Can someone offer some advice on having a home generator installed. What brand, fuel type, (solar, propane, gas, etc). I am tired of dealing my portable generator which only gets used once every three years and when I need this past weekend, it wouldn't start. (probably my fault for leaving some gas in it). I am interested in getting a home generator installed that will serve as a back-up for power outages. Mainly I would like to maintain heat, hot-water and a few lights. Any advice is welcomed as this is a new idea for me.

[SteveTX]

Ive been looking at something for my new place as well. Generac has reasonable prices on their website I thought. All the questions you have I will be asking them when I get to that point. Im undecided on fuel type as well.

[LarsenNET]

Mine is a Generac 22KW, Natural Gas, w/ automatic transfer switch. It will run the whole house easily, cost was about 10K installed. I had to have the gas meter upgraded also. I have been pretty happy with it, can't comment on other brands.

[CatFan]

An electric water heater alone can be 5000W, so it will drive the generator size more than anything else but a heat pump. Many people on a budget just forget the hot water or size so they have to shut everything else off to use the water heater. Your heat source also plays a huge part in your decisions. If you have a heat pump, roughly figure another 5000W for it.

Fuel depends on what you have available. If you have natural gas, that’s usually the best choice. With gas and diesel, storage becomes an issue. If you don’t have power, the gas station probably doesn’t have power and everybody else is trying to find fuel for their generator, so you need to have a few days of storage. Even the smallest standby generator will use a half gallon of diesel or 3/4 gallon of gasoline per hour at moderate loads. More if you fire up a water heater or have a heat pump. Fuel doesn’t keep, so it’s best if you use something you can burn in a vehicle so you can keep your storage fresh.

[MYRX]

Thanks, I will look at the Generac web site. I have natural gas on site now, it just isn't hooked up to anything at the moment.

[BoatBuggy]

Thanks, I will look at the Generac web site. I have natural gas on site now, it just isn't hooked up to anything at the moment.

A nat gas Generac would be the way to go. No worries about the fuel supply with nat gas.

[ericm]

Mine is a Generac 22KW, Natural Gas, w/ automatic transfer switch. It will run the whole house easily, cost was about 10K installed. I had to have the gas meter upgraded also. I have been pretty happy with it, can't comment on other brands.

Yep! That's the way to go. The code official required a load-shed breaker for our dryer and electric oven. I think we had about 9,00o.00 total for all work. They're really sweet in the winter when power goes out at 2:00 in the morning! We don't miss a beat!

[Team Hobbie Hut]

Mine is a Generac 22KW, Natural Gas, w/ automatic transfer switch. It will run the whole house easily, cost was about 10K installed. I had to have the gas meter upgraded also. I have been pretty happy with it, can't comment on other brands.

Same here except mine is a 25KW. Runs EVERYTHING and that's a lot in almost 4000 square feet.

[Dave A]

I have a generac that runs on natural gas and have no complaints. Generac used to have a sizing chart on their webpage, just put in everything that uses electric and it will tell you how many KW you need. Since you have natural gas that would be your best bet.

[TampaJim]

Have you considered electrical storage, possibly adding a solar array?
We have a portable Honda EU2000i for the chiller, cell recharging, etc.
Underground utilities & close proximity to the substation, we're good.
However, if we wanted/needed a whole house solution, solar for sure.

[AMMOT]

not be be negative but,pull the trigger now,and start looking if you find one do not hesitate for a minute,new orders are shipping in september october time frame

[TroyBoy30]

Natural gas genrac would be my choice

[fishin couillon]

Like others, and since you have NG, NG Generac....at least a 22kW......

[LarsenNET]

Have you considered electrical storage, possibly adding a solar array?
We have a portable Honda EU2000i for the chiller, cell recharging, etc.
Underground utilities & close proximity to the substation, we're good.
However, if we wanted/needed a whole house solution, solar for sure.

I also have a large solar array. Solar won't help in a power outage. Code requires the inverter(s) to be shutdown so you don't backfeed the grid while they are working on the lines. The only way solar would help is if you are feeding it into batteries. The cost of large battery storage just isn't reasonable right now and wouldn't last very long anyway. Still better off with Solar & Generator.

[EarlK]

I'm another one that'll recommend Generac with propane or natural gas. I've had mine for 11 years now and not a single issue with anything....touch wood.

[rivertrail]

I went with a cummins 22kw generator. We are all electric and dont have access to gas so we went with a propane option. Back when we did it the cummins was rated a little quieter than the Generac and had a longer warranty. Not sure if either of those is true today or not. We've had no trouble out of the cummins.

[TampaJim]

I also have a large solar array. Solar won't help in a power outage. Code requires the inverter(s) to be shutdown so you don't backfeed the grid while they are working on the lines. The only way solar would help is if you are feeding it into batteries. The cost of large battery storage just isn't reasonable right now and wouldn't last very long anyway. Still better off with Solar & Generator.

No clue ... systems here do shutdown the backfeed and it's common to have storage.
Seems most people will have 1-2 days of storage, but others longer at a higher cost.

[NCdud]

Generac 24KW here running on LP. Buried a 500-gallon propane when we built the house last year. We don't have natural gas, so LP was our only choice. Also, LP has a higher BTU rating versus natural gas. 10K for the total cost including the cost to bury tank.

[RFSims]

I have known my dealer for over 30 years. He sells Genrac, Briggs Stratton and Cummins. This past year I bought a NG 20K Cummins. While all are good units he said the most of his repair/service calls were on Genrac, the least Cummins. Neighbor has a Genrac with no problems I am aware of. The peace of mind is worth the cost.

[AZMike49]

I put up a thread Nov 10 - Generac Home backup systems - Any Info?

Had lots of great input and pulled the trigger on a Generac generator. When I contacted the recommended installer in our area he further recommended to order from Costco. His current orders are taking close to 14 months to fill, big back order. So I ordered from Costco and they contacted the same installer with a schedule date in 3 months. Costco is a priority vendor and orders are filled in 3 months. So you might check with Costco in your area. Also if you are an executive member you will get close to 15% credit back.

Finally, when the installer came out based on his recommendations, the size of my house, the elevation(we are 5000 ft), it sized out installing a 26kw air cooled generator. We have propane in our area so I am putting a separate 500 gallon tank to run the generator. 500 gallons will run the generator for at least 7 days.

Is this over kill? Most likely. But we have had outages that lasted 1-2 days. Also, there is discussion of possible rolling black outs. So better to have the peace of mind.