natural gas powered backup generator questions

[Robert_in_NY]

I have been thinking about this but just because I like to think about things that I don't quite know what I am thinking about. Anyway, there is a gas company wanting to drill on the land I bought last year. They sent us the contract and we would be given 300,000 cubic feet of free gas each year. I would love to build a house there eventually but it won't be anytime soon as I am still out of work because of my back so this is just stuff I think about for future consideration and planning.

So I am assuming there are back up generators that run off natural gas. I am going to list some of the things I am thinking and am curious about below.

What I am curious about is can these generators actually run a house for any major length of time? I would have to see how much natural gas the generator would actually use but I have this idea where it would be nice to use the generator every now and then just to keep it running smoothly for when/if I need it.

Do they have ways to program backup generators to auto start and take over powering the house on their own (I am terrible at remembering things). I would imagine they have circuit interupters that would keep it from back feeding the main line to the grid (correct me if I am wrong) so if I have it start up every couple weeks and run for a few hours it won't cause any problems or injuries.

The way my mind works I would love to build a house that could be self sufficient off of the gas well if need be. The area this is in catches a lot of wind so we do lose power every now and then but luckily it doesn't stay off too long as we live so close to the power station and the service trucks but I don't like not having power when needed. If I could do this I would ideally mount the generator in the barn so there would be no noise in or near the house.

Ultimately I would look into as many free energy sources as possible when I build. I have researched windmills before and NY did have a grant program for windmills but I don't know if that is still going or will still be going when I finally build. I would also look into solar panels but I am concerned about hail damaging the panels as we do get hail in this area at least once a year.

So does any of this make sense or am I just rambling again?

 

[J_J]

Robert,

I believe there lots of these generators available. Here is a Kohler web site for what you want.

Kohler Power: Residential Generators: Residential Home Generators

 

[charlz]

1 cubic foot is about 1028 BTU's.
1 therm = 100,000 BTU

300000cuft is 308400000 BTU's or 3084 therms

Around here it is a little over $1/therm for residential gas so that is over $3000 a year in free gas.

308400000 BTU is 90322kw
8765.81277 hours in a year

So 10kw per hour all year long?

Somebody check my math

 

[kennyd]

So I am assuming there are back up generators that run off natural gas. I am going to list some of the things I am thinking and am curious about below.

Yes, and propane as well. Generac, Onan, Kohler and Winco are popular names in the automatic standby generator market.

What I am curious about is can these generators actually run a house for any major length of time? I would have to see how much natural gas the generator would actually use but I have this idea where it would be nice to use the generator every now and then just to keep it running smoothly for when/if I need it.

Sure, But I would step up to the Onan/Kohler water cooled (more $$$) for a constant duty unit.

Do they have ways to program backup generators to auto start and take over powering the house on their own (I am terrible at remembering things).

Yes, they "exercise" automatically. My Generac starts itself once a week-and runs for 12 minutes. I does NOT however take on the house load.

I would imagine they have circuit interupters that would keep it from back feeding the main line to the grid (correct me if I am wrong) so if I have it start up every couple weeks and run for a few hours it won't cause any problems or injuries.

Yes, they are called "automatic transfer switches"

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Thanks guys. At least now I know I can try to figure this into my future home.

 

[BobRip]

Make sure they are really going to drill and really hit gas. I have had two contracts on our land and they have never drilled. They did drill next door and are pumping my gas up the neighbors well. I think the guy does this on purpose. He ties up neighboring properties at a few $ per acre and pumps it all from one or two wells. Also wells can wear out in a few years, so this is not a lifetime supply.

 

[CurlyDave]

1. I would get a lawyer to look at the contract being offered.

2. What happens if you don't take the gas? Do they sell it and give you the money? I would rather have money than more gas than I can use.

 

[Western]

I agree with Curly Dave, I would rather have the cash to use as I needed.

We used to have a 20k generator, we ran it on LP gas but it could go natural gas too. It was set to run 20 minutes every Sunday afternoon, during the "run" it would charge its battery and do a system check.

This was a BIG unit, but it was for standby emergency power only, it was not recommended for full time use.

 

[JB4310]

1 cubic foot is about 1028 BTU's.
1 therm = 100,000 BTU

300000cuft is 308400000 BTU's or 3084 therms

Around here it is a little over $1/therm for residential gas so that is over $3000 a year in free gas.

308400000 BTU is 90322kw
8765.81277 hours in a year

So 10kw per hour all year long?

Somebody check my math

I don't know how to check your math, but at 10 kw/per hour 24/7 that sounds like enough to run the entire house for the year plus have some left over for heating


Just curious but can you tap the gas under your land yourself if that's even feasible, how far down is the gas normally?

My sister lives in upstate NY near Cortland/Binghampton, her sister in-law got a sweet deal on the natural gas under her property, don't know how much she's getting a month but it's in the thousands!!, her and her husband quit they're jobs.

 

[ToadHill]

Robert: Before you sign any gas lease please check with Forcon in Jamestown. If you haven't heard we sit on part of the newly discovered Marcellus shale deposit and gas companyies are paying big $$$ to lease the land.

Some people are getting up to $1500 per acre or more plus 15% of the value of the gas.

Forcon is setting up a conglomerate of landowners to get a better negotiating position for the landowners. It may be a very valuable call for you. I'm in the process of talking to them about putting my farm in their conglomerate.