All electric house and a generator

[grsthegreat]

I have one job i bid that has a 130 kw propane unit that sucks down 22 GPH of propane when working. Now THATS crazy.

Cant have the guests towel warmers or coffee cup warmer not work in power outage.

 

[ultrarunner]

For a price just about anything can be done...

I fall into the line of thinking of needs vs wants...

My 5000W Honda did nicely for 4 homes during the Loma Prieta earthquake... basically refrigeration and a couple of lights...

 

[Wakey]

Ok, keep talking guys I was starting to learn something lol

I guess I'm trying to decide if I should go with propane and diesel for backup power.

Propane for the stove, gas logs, and tankless water heater.

Electric for heating and air? Someone said propane heat was not cost effective.

I'm in North central GA.

I used to chuckle at the prepper types but things are getting very unstable in our world. I'm building a new home and I think it would be a wise investment to have systems ready in case of a grid attack. There, that makes me a prepper :-(

I'm also looking at the new insulation strategies on the market to decrease my consumption.

 

[dodge man]

We had propane heat and how cheap it is all depends on the price per gallon. I always kind of figured it was similar in price as a gallon of gas but just a little bit lower, but it can vary so much. I believe it hit $5 per gallon here a few winters ago when there was a shortage. Thats expensive heat.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Ok, keep talking guys I was starting to learn something lol

I guess I'm trying to decide if I should go with propane and diesel for backup power.

Propane for the stove, gas logs, and tankless water heater.

Electric for heating and air? Someone said propane heat was not cost effective.

I'm in North central GA.

I used to chuckle at the prepper types but things are getting very unstable in our world. I'm building a new home and I think it would be a wise investment to have systems ready in case of a grid attack. There, that makes me a prepper :-(

I'm also looking at the new insulation strategies on the market to decrease my consumption.

Heat pumps are substantially more than 100% efficient. That's because they don't make the heat, they just move it around. They also provide AC during warm weather. Insulation is the gift that keeps on giving. My electric bill is lower than it was 22 years ago when I bought this place, thanks to multiple energy upgrades. Liveability is better too, because there are no hot spots in the summer or cold spots in the winter.

Heat pumps don't work well below about 35 degrees, because the outside coil starts icing up and the pump has to use energy to defrost it. It's very common to use propane as supplemental heat during freezing weather. In your area that would not be terrifically expensive because as soon as the wind shifts you are back above freezing again. If you are already using propane for cooking and hot water, I would use it for supplemental heat on a heat pump and to run a generator. You would only have one fuel to deal with, and could just install one large tank. If you have off-road diesel equipment like a cat or a tractor, a diesel generator might be an option.

It doesn't take a huge generator to run a heat pump, as long as you are not feeding electric supplemental heat strips. They do start hard, so you need to pay attention to the starting surge. Your mechanical contractor can give you the specs on what you need to run it. Mine has over an 8 kw starting surge, but when it's running it only uses 2800 watts.

Get a big tank and keep it full. About 10 years ago there was a severe propane shortage in Middle America in the middle of winter. People with small tanks were hit with massive mid-winter price increases and propane rationing. I seem to recall that there was plenty of propane in Texas but no way to get it north fast enough. Here's an article from the time.

U.S. propane shortage hits millions during brutal freeze
| Reuters

I would really recommend a 1000 gallon tank. If you only use 200 in a winter, it's no big deal. Propane stores forever.

 

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

Someone said propane heat was not cost effective.

Depends on where you are and what prices run in your area. You need to do that research locally.

 

[Redneck in training]

It doesn't take a huge generator to run a heat pump, as long as you are not feeding electric supplemental heat strips. They do start hard, so you need to pay attention to the starting surge. Your mechanical contractor can give you the specs on what you need to run it. Mine has over an 8 kw starting surge, but when it's running it only uses 2800 watts.

As I already mentioned it my previous entry to this thread you can use "soft start" device. It will get you by with much smaller generator.
There are many on the market. I use this one: Hyper Engineering | Home

Speaking about insulation. My brother living in Czech Republic has a high efficiency house which is heated most of the time just by refrigerator, cooking, TV, lights, people etc. His heating kicks in only at very low winter temperatures. The house is built from blocks that serve as heat accumulator and outside is insulated by about 6-8" of closed cell material (like the pink stuff) that is glued to the walls and plastered over by synthetic plaster. Windows and doors are so tight that have to have calibrated infiltration built in the frame.

 

[dickfoster]

"Heat pumps are substantially more than 100% efficient. " Sorry I gotta red flag that one.
If you believe in perpetual motion then I want to talk to you about some real estate and a great deal on a bridge.

There is no such thing as 100% efficient nor does anything ever come for free. A lot of democrats may seem to think so but the laws of physics and economics both say no.

 

[ColoradoBound]

"Heat pumps are substantially more than 100% efficient. " Sorry I gotta red flag that one.
If you believe in perpetual motion then I want to talk to you about some real estate and a great deal on a bridge.

It just means that you get more BTUs out than if you just turned the electricity into heat.

 

[techman]

"Heat pumps are substantially more than 100% efficient. " Sorry I gotta red flag that one.
If you believe in perpetual motion then I want to talk to you about some real estate and a great deal on a bridge.

Heat pumps are 200%-300% more efficient, compared to electric resistance heat. So it is a true statement when taken in context.

Paul