That's the ticket. I haven't bought one yet, but I priced a 7.5 KWH stand-by generator at about $2,500 last year. There would be installation costs, of course, but a generator of that capacity would run my furnace, the lights, water heater, TV's, computers, and refrigerator.
I probably wouldn't use the electric range or oven, but the microwave would do.
Down here in Texas the storms hit when it’s 100 degrees. Have a 20KW whole house generator with a transfer switch and a 500 gal propane tank. Turn key price was $10K. Cook stove and heat stove run off a separate propane tank. The unit tests itself every Wednesday afternoon. It was a good investment. I’m 64 and after Hurricane Ike I swore off of stove top baths.