We lived in the city (city water/sewer) and bought a house in the county (well water). First thing I thought about was if the power goes out, you have no well water, and after a few flushes and a sinkload of dishes, you have no water pressure once the pressure tank runs down. So I thought about it for a while and ended up buying a small, 4000w Coleman gas generator for about $350 back then. That will run the well pump, and some lights, and the natural gas furnace if needed, and the freezer and fridge. Just not all of it at once. Have to be selective as to what to run. That was around 1995. While we have several power outages each year, the longest in this house has been less than a day. 23 years....
Most outages are less than an hour.
One time we had several tornadoes, and my in-laws were without power for 3 days. I took it over there and ran it for an hour every 4 hours to keep the freezer cold and charge their well tank. So really, that was only about 12 hours of run-time over 3 days.
I do understand the convenience of automatic standby generators. Especially for people with the money to afford them. If I had the money, I'd probably get one as well. And I understand the necessity of those systems for people with health issues. My mom had respiratory issues and needed clean, climate controlled air.
And I understand many of the folks here on TBN laughing at that guy in the video. However, in all reality, he probably had ZERO experience with generators, wanted whole-house, and listened to a salesman's pitch, and is now paying the consequences. Lighten up on the guy. He's paying for a learning experience the hard way.
