whole house generator

[DahanaWell]

Hey guys,

I will soon move to a new house, and think about buying  whole house generator.

Thanks for future suggestions.

Cheer

[Tacos and Beer]

Rather than spend upwards of $10,000 on a natural gas generator that will only be useful during the rare occasion that your power goes out (even more rare that the outage is for more than an hour or two), perhaps you should consider spending that money on a solar system. Consider this: solar power has become much less expensive in the last several years. $10,000 will provide a sizable system, capable of running all of your lights, refrigerator, TVs, and computer, and some of your other electrical products. It may not run your central AC system, but it could power a room air conditioner or two, allowing you to stay cool in part of the house. Best of all, a solar array is paying you back every single day that you own it, as opposed to a genset. Consider that most Houstonians have only lost power on an extended basis twice in their lives, 1983 during Hurricane Alicia, and 2008 during Ike. Your solar array would have paid for itself by then.

 

Oh, and solar panels are generally wind proof, especially in Houston, where the winds almost never surpass 100 mph. It's worth looking into.

[Houston19514]

11 hours ago, Tacos and Beer said:

Rather than spend upwards of $10,000 on a natural gas generator that will only be useful during the rare occasion that your power goes out (even more rare that the outage is for more than an hour or two), perhaps you should consider spending that money on a solar system. Consider this: solar power has become much less expensive in the last several years. $10,000 will provide a sizable system, capable of running all of your lights, refrigerator, TVs, and computer, and some of your other electrical products. It may not run your central AC system, but it could power a room air conditioner or two, allowing you to stay cool in part of the house. Best of all, a solar array is paying you back every single day that you own it, as opposed to a genset. Consider that most Houstonians have only lost power on an extended basis twice in their lives, 1983 during Hurricane Alicia, and 2008 during Ike. Your solar array would have paid for itself by then.

 

Oh, and solar panels are generally wind proof, especially in Houston, where the winds almost never surpass 100 mph. It's worth looking into.

 

Except it looks like you are overstating the cost of natural gas generators and understating the cost of solar installations. There is no reason to spend anywhere near $10,000 on a natural gas generator (presuming that we are not talking about a 10,000 square foot house).

[griz]

There's also the issue of power storage with solar.  I'd like my freezer/fridge to run overnight.

[dbigtex56]

 There are rechargeable batteries that could be used in conjunction with a solar array to provide electricity at night, but a quick Google search suggests that the price would approach that of a whole-house system, and more than a portable generator. An advantage is that fuel wouldn't be a consideration; sometimes gasoline can be hard to obtain during emergency conditions.

What you ultimately buy will depend on your requirements and budget. Operating a few lights and a refrigerator obviously will be cheaper than lighting and air conditioning a whole house.

My sister has a whole-house generator but she lives in a rural area where electric outages are common and last longer than is usual in Houston. She also has a water well and electric heat, both of which can be regarded as necessities (especially in sub-freezing weather). 
If you can afford it more power to you (play on words intended); otherwise it's a large investment to protect yourself from infrequent inconveniences.

[jgriff]

You can get a 12kw generator that runs off natural gas for around $3k. Figure another $3k at least for installation. It will run the central a/c in your house as long as you still have gas service. When a hurricane comes and you’re without power for even one night all you will care about is a/c. 

[mollusk]

This is why Mollusk Manor remains equipped with a fine 1950 (+/-) gas range with standing pilots. It allows less than primitive bathing when the the gas-yet-electron-requiring tankless water heater stops working because Reddy Kilowatt was killed temporarily disabled by a tree.

 

 

Yeah... most of the time...

[JohnyWalter]

Look at Generac whole house generators.

Take a look at this model : Generac 11k wtt

And this one : Generac 20k watt

They have perfect solutions,also check information about Kohler,good brand as well.

Jon