Not knowing what your power requirements are, I can’t recommend what kind of generator you would need.
Bryan spent weeks reading about them and talking to electricians and generator sales people before he settled on one company.
We have a 3000 sq.ft. house with another 2000 sq.ft. basement, 1500 sq.ft. of the basement is finished. Here in Ohio, the basement doesn’t count in the square footage of the house for sales and assessment value, but we do keep the finished part of the basement heated/cooled/dry.
We bought a 48KW generator, and the electricians stress tested it by asking us to turn on everything in the entire house that uses electricity. The generator didn’t notice, so it definitely is enough for this place. We will probably never again turn on all that stuff at once, but at least the test didn’t go on our electric bill, LOL!
I wish I could recommend this company to you, but they are here. DeLoy Electric is their company’s name, and they did a perfect job, returning a week after they installed the generator (in a snowstorm, BTW) to tweak and adjust everything until they were satisfied that it was working perfectly.
It automatically tests itself every Saturday at noon, and it will automatically turn itself on if there is a power failure. Trouble free so far.
Do your research, talk to a lot of people who know this stuff, and ask question after question about whatever you don’t know.
Also, you may find that generators are very pricey. This one was very expensive. Very, very.
I wonder if I could get one of those generators like the one Ben Bernanke uses, and how much those cost. They don’t produce kWh, though, they produce $.
48KW, oh yes!
That will boil 16 kettles at once!
That's a lot of coffee.
Impressed, seriously, impressed!
We wouldn’t be able to afford a huge one. It would be nice to have an operating freezer during a power outage.
Selecting a generator depends on several very important factors:
What will you need to power? (Well pump, furnace, refrigerator, and freezer? And/or medical equipment?)
What will be the fuel source?
How will the generator start?
For really minimal needs, for example, if you’re on town water and gas heat, you might be able to get by with just enough emergency power to light a few lights and operate your entertainment, (TV and computer).
For more serious needs, you might be able to get by with a pull-start generator, and alternately plug in those things that need to be powered, when they need to be powered. That is, run the well pump, then the furnace, then the freezer, et cetera).
For the most convenience and security, get a reliable fuel source, and have the generator start automatically when the power fails. Use an automatic transfer switch to provide power to the essential equipment.
The ideal situation is having natural gas supplied to your house. That can be your fuel source. Since it is usually also your fuel for the stove, and the furnace, your electricity needs are reduced.
To assess how big a generator you must have, add up all the appliances that you will have running at the same time in an emergency. Size the generator according to your needs, your cost tolerance, and how much work you are willing to do balancing and shifting things around.