Standby Generator

[drssg]

Good thread. We are about 20 miles southeast of Charlotte, NC (in the Marvin, Monroe, Waxhaw area). We are considering a whole-home natural-gas generator. We have a 3,765 square-foot house with the typical loads. We have natural-gas heat. We would consider a generator that would not be large enough to power the air conditioner but probably would want the whole house powered otherwise (or else we will just buy a smaller portable unit to power the critical things such as the refrig and freezer). We would appreciate any recommendations for brand, size and installer in our area. Thanks in advance for any feedback.

Several people on this thread had nice things to say about Generac, so I finally called them and got the ball rolling. So far, I’ve been happy with the process. They sent out guys from two local installers to provide free estimates, and I’m scheduled for an installation next month.

They can provide multiple options, so you can get a feel for the trade-off between price and convenience for your situation.

Generac Power Solutions - Contact Customer Support

 

[rbtjr]

Thanks, drssg. I will follow up as you suggest.

 

[3Ts]

I've got a 22Kw Generac on Propane and really the only viable option here. I suppose diesel could be done, but not easily. But, those of you on natural gas - I'm assuming it's a utility that is piped in like the electric grid and not stored on site like the propane tanks - what happens in a storm? I've heard that the natural gas would be shut off to prevent fires in other parts of the distribution system. Anyone know what the policies are on this?

 

[rbtjr]

I am not aware of an official policy one way or the other. We have been on natural gas for 16 years. So far as I recall, we have never had it cut off for any reason. And that includes during some pretty severe weather.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Just curious. We here are not to the best of my knowledge in any danger of flooding. Ice Storms and wind are the biggest cuplrit for outages here.

Do people in such flood prone areas, mount their standby systems up high? How, Where?

And a good question. Has ANYBODY ever lost Natural gas, short of earthquake? Do large trees being uprooted ever rip out gas lines?

 

[msb1766]

I had a GE 15kw whole house standby generator installed about 6 years ago.
This generator and auto transfer switch has load shedding capability.
Have had many outages and the generator has given me no problems at all.
Has a battery warmer. We had a power outage a few years ago it was -8 and it started right up.
Here is the model that I have:
GE 15kw Standby Generators
I did not buy from this company, I bought from a local dealer and they installed it.

 

[jaydee325]

A week ago Saturday, storms came through and the power went out at 2:30am. The generator started and re-energized the house as it should.

However, the outage caused some anxiety in that we were to depart on a family trip to the north woods of Michigan (4 hour drive) with our 3 kids, spouses, and 9 month old grand daughter Saturday morning. The power company had their hands full as they had over 150,000 without power in southern Michigan and were not predicting restoration to my area until Tuesday.

Fortunately, I had enough propane to go at least 5 days. I also have the ability to monitor the generator on my phone. We turned off everything we could and we packed up and left.

Power outage lasted 40 hours! Sure was glad I had the generator!

Since installation last August, the generator has run 103 hours.

 

[Doofy]

Good Lord! Even being in Alaska, our power is rarely out...maybe 6-8 hours a year. I keep a small Honda generator ready but have only got to use it one time in ten years.

 

[coobie]

A week ago Saturday, storms came through and the power went out at 2:30am. The generator started and re-energized the house as it should.

However, the outage caused some anxiety in that we were to depart on a family trip to the north woods of Michigan (4 hour drive) with our 3 kids, spouses, and 9 month old grand daughter Saturday morning. The power company had their hands full as they had over 150,000 without power in southern Michigan and were not predicting restoration to my area until Tuesday.

Fortunately, I had enough propane to go at least 5 days. I also have the ability to monitor the generator on my phone. We turned off everything we could and we packed up and left.

Power outage lasted 40 hours! Sure was glad I had the generator!

Since installation last August, the generator has run 103 hours.

WOW that is A LOT of hours to be without any power.Do you have a lot of tree conditions in your area as in trees need to be trimmed?

 

[Ortimber]

This February, we had a freak snowstorm and our entire county was without power. The biggest town was down 3 days, but most were out 4-10 days. We were out for 17! Some others were out for a month. We were just fine with a couple of Hondas. I’ve contemplated getting a 10-15KW diesel genny, but after this experience, I don’t have any fear that we couldn’t make do with these little gassers.