Posted on 06/04/2024 8:42:56 AM PDT by eastexsteve
I live in rural NE Texas, and we experience power outages often. Some last for days. This year, we've been hammered by bad weather, and this round is the 12th time I've been on generator power this year. I've played the "generator game" for decades, starting off with one that I thought would be just good enough to keep me going, running the bare minimum appliances until the power came back on. This was torture. In my opinion, most people make bad decisions when it comes to buying a generator. They think small, and short run times. The truth is, here in Texas, you need one big enough to power your whole house, including A/C. For a 2,000 sqft house with a family of four, (that is VERY energy efficient with all LED lights etc.,) you are talking at least a 12KW - 13KW running watt (not surge watt) generator. If you want to stay married and keep your kids from running away from home, don't think about anything smaller. And, you want it fuel efficient enough to run all day. Also, you want one built to go extended run times. Most of these smaller camping or job site generators won't cut it, since they won't run very long under a load between fueling, and require oil changes every 50 hours. You're not powering a tent or a garage shop. You are powering your house, and you may have to do it for many days. Propane/Natural gas generators are VERY inefficient. Gasoline is somewhat better. Diesel is the best. Here in Texas during the "big freeze" a few years ago, some people even lost natural gas pressure! With the world like it is, and getting worse, you need to consider things like fuel, fuel storage, and fuel availability in case of a SHTF scenario. Before you go plop down hundreds of dollars on a generator thinking you need just enough to get you by, you better give it some serious thought.
IMHO running a generator during a black out or other disaster scenario makes that home a target. Unless you have blacked out windows and show no signs of being better off than the rest of the neighborhood, you need to be careful, very careful.
I am getting quotes and surveys for this as we speak. There are only two brand names for whole house generators that I am aware of. Kohler and Generac. If anyone has experience, advice, or other alternatives, please post.
Thank you. We are thinking of moving to Texas in a couple years and know nothing about generators.
Can you offer any suggestions as to preferred brands of diesel generator and as to noise issues? I live in Florida and . . . well, you know the problem.
True. And looters will follow the sound of generators, too.
The more homes with emergency generators in Texas signals less faith in ERCOT.
There is a grey space between normal life and zombie apocalypse where infrastructure just sucks. Power companies going green are degrading the grid and even preemptively instigating blackouts because they no longer meet demand. People cant afford to have their refrigerators/freezers turned off for 48 hours multiple times a year spoiling hundreds of dollars of frozen goods each time that happens. Having these backups just makes economic sense today.
What’s bothersome is the need for a generator-more and more these days.
Texas is red so is there an excuse for power outages?
Good info.
13KW, is all day would be 24x13=kWHr.
How does that compare to your power bill, without the blackout? You should be able to divide by the number of days in your non-blackout billing period.
But they won't hear the sound of what will stop their looting permanently.
I have a 13.5 kw GE, it’s running a Briggs engine.
12 kw is a rather large generator. I do fine for days with a 3 kw honda at idle most of the time.
“True. And looters will follow the sound of generators, too.”
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And what will they do to the sound of a shotgun being racked?
[This year, we’ve been hammered by bad weather, and this round is the 12th time I’ve been on generator power this year. ]
Had a Kohler installed last year...ours has separate electrical (or whatever it is)...had independent electric co install it...they were excellent...hub did not like Kohler ppl...
>> There is a grey space between normal life and zombie apocalypse where infrastructure just sucks. Power companies going green are degrading the grid
EXCELLENT point.
A whole house generator that you speak of can easily cost over $6,000.00
I can’t believe you’ve been without power 12 times this year.
Maybe pay your electricity bill?
IMHO running a generator during a black out or other disaster scenario makes that home a target.
With the right equipment, any violators will be coming to target, not me.
Use it just to run the fridge and you don’t have that prob.
And considering the price of groceries, possibly a smart investment, especially if you’re prone to outages.
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