Home backup generators

[Susie]

Has anyone had a backup generator installed?  

We talked about the idea at our old house, after we lost power for 5 days following a derecho in Oct 2020.  Instead, we spent $700 to buy my dad's old but well maintained generator, after he had a Generac generator installed at his own house.  We figured at least it would keep us from losing food in the freezers, and would stave off the most dire emergencies. It would be very bare bones though.

As it turns out we sold that house and moved, so good call on no Generac!  But now that we're settled and plan to stay, we're considering doing it sooner rather than later.  

As a house warming gift, my dad offered to buy us a new Weber natural gas grill and pay to have a natural gas line run for it so we can stop running out for propane tanks for grilling -- an awesome gift, because our current Weber propane grill is 14 years old, and is showing every day of it.  But we were thinking why have someone out to do natural gas line work twice?  Plus we also have a natural gas line out to a pool heater that we need removed (or re-routed, or something?)  We've already removed the above-ground pool, but the heater and associated plumbing and electric remains.

I see Generac units sprinkled throughout our new neighborhood, but are there any other brands I should look into?  Would HVAC companies that are Generac dealers likely be able to do the rest of the gas line work at the same time?  Any other advice?  Thanks!

[deadwing]

I'm starting to research this project as well! I'm hoping I can do it next year. I've done a couple of expensive projects this year, so I need some time to rebuild savings before starting the next project.

My neighborhood is mostly older homes (~50-100 years old). I recently asked a neighbor about her whole-home Generac and she warned me that my home will likely need electrical updates before I can get the Generac. I know my house underwent major renovations within the last 10 years, so maybe my electrical is up to snuff, but with a 95+ year old home, I'm expecting something to need an upgrade.

[TBM]

I think gas line work is done by a plumber.

We had extensive electrical work, propane tanks with lines run for our cooktop, (there is no natural gas in our neighborhood), and a whole house backup generator installed when we first moved into this house. Best decision ever.

Our neighborhood was without power for 9 days after one hurricane, and the area loses power more often than anywhere else I have ever lived. It has really been amazing to have so little interruption to our lives, and peace of mind.

[ssmjlm]

Where I am, the gas lines are $$$ to run.

I would estimate that the generator and install could run upwards of $10k. We don't have enough space in our panel to add a whole house, we would have to add in room for the switch, etc. Our electrician did say it could be done, but my parents are local and have one plus gas heat/hot water, so we'll just go bunk with them.

[scm1011]

Aug 5, 2021 12:38:48 GMT -5 ssmjlm said:

Where I am, the gas lines are $$$ to run.

I would estimate that the generator and install could run upwards of $10k. We don't have enough space in our panel to add a whole house, we would have to add in room for the switch, etc. Our electrician did say it could be done, but my parents are local and have one plus gas heat/hot water, so we'll just go bunk with them.

That is definitely an accurate estimate.

I'd stick with Generac. At my old job I spent years researching and writing about them and their competitors in the industry and Generac is far and away the market leader for a reason. And on a personal note, I spent a lot of time with them at their facilities in WI and they have one of the most awesome C-suites I ever worked with - good people who treat their workers really well.

[Pilsy]

We used a plumber through our propane company to run the line for ours. We already had a large propane tank in the yard because we have a gas cooktop; we had to have a second tank added for our Generac. (We now own them, rather than renting the one.)

All in, we paid $8,800 for the 22Kw unit (with transfer switch) through Home Depot and all the related work through one of the preferred Generac installation partners. I truly love that thing.

[Susie]

Oh good, I'm glad to hear consensus on Generac, and also that buying one supports a good company culture!  I was expecting something in the $6-10k range, so that is not a surprise.  

I was talking to a colleague at work who is in the process of putting one in, and he suggested that we could just put the generator where the pool heater already is, so that we don't have to move any gas lines for it.  I'm trying to think about how we'd landscape it out of view, but it's not a bad idea.  I had been thinking of putting it up by the house, nearish where the a/c is, but it doesn't need to be the case.

[aprilsails]

You would have additional costs for the longer electrical lines if you leave it by the pool heater. I would check with an installer and see what they think is best.

If you have a Costco membership check with them for Generac pricing. They were far and away the cheapest when we last looked into getting one.

I’m an electrical engineer and design up to 20MW back up power systems for data centres, etc and I would 100% put in a Generac system for our house if we felt we needed it (we researched pricing when we were building our home and thought we might need a sump pump).

[ellipses84]

I don’t have any experience, but wanted to say do it! I’m probably jaded but I fully believe there’s going to be a lot more power outage due to climate crisis / natural disasters. I know in Houston they tend to put them on a raised platform so they don’t get destroyed in a flood. That may not be a concern in your area, but it looks like your pool heater is downgrade from everything else so you may want to consider that. I don’t recall new ones being noisy at all but you may want to ask. Even an outdoor a/c unit buzz can be annoying if you are trying to relax by a quiet pool. We stayed in a house and had to use one. It was on the exterior side of the house but the main stairs were on the inside wall so there was a buffer.

[deadwing]

Aug 5, 2021 17:14:04 GMT -5 aprilsails said:

You would have additional costs for the longer electrical lines if you leave it by the pool heater. I would check with an installer and see what they think is best.

If you have a Costco membership check with them for Generac pricing. They were far and away the cheapest when we last looked into getting one.

I’m an electrical engineer and design up to 20MW back up power systems for data centres, etc and I would 100% put in a Generac system for our house if we felt we needed it (we researched pricing when we were building our home and thought we might need a sump pump).

Was the price difference enough to justify Costco membership just for the Generac?  I think the nearest one is about an hour away. I wouldn't have much use for the membership outside of this - I live alone and have a small house.  I don't have much need for bulk shopping.

Aug 5, 2021 17:25:53 GMT -5 ellipses84 said:

I don’t have any experience, but wanted to say do it! I’m probably jaded but I fully believe there’s going to be a lot more power outage due to climate crisis / natural disasters. I know in Houston they tend to put them on a raised platform so they don’t get destroyed in a flood. That may not be a concern in your area, but it looks like your pool heater is downgrade from everything else so you may want to consider that. I don’t recall new ones being noisy at all but you may want to ask. Even an outdoor a/c unit buzz can be annoying if you are trying to relax by a quiet pool. We stayed in a house and had to use one. It was on the exterior side of the house but the main stairs were on the inside wall so there was a buffer.

This is a huge part of why I want a Generac.  I've been extremely fortunate to not have many power outages in my area, but I fear they are going to become more common/worse with climate change.  I've been on the fence about the cost being "worth it" for a few years, but I've reached the point where I'm ready to do it.

[lo]

We’ve looked into it since the pandemic and I guess prices and wait times are a lot higher now. I just asked my husband and he said 15k all in. It’s on our list, but pretty far down right now.

[aprilsails]

Aug 6, 2021 7:01:27 GMT -5 deadwing said:

Aug 5, 2021 17:14:04 GMT -5 aprilsails said:

You would have additional costs for the longer electrical lines if you leave it by the pool heater. I would check with an installer and see what they think is best.

If you have a Costco membership check with them for Generac pricing. They were far and away the cheapest when we last looked into getting one.

I’m an electrical engineer and design up to 20MW back up power systems for data centres, etc and I would 100% put in a Generac system for our house if we felt we needed it (we researched pricing when we were building our home and thought we might need a sump pump).

Was the price difference enough to justify Costco membership just for the Generac?  I think the nearest one is about an hour away. I wouldn't have much use for the membership outside of this - I live alone and have a small house.  I don't have much need for bulk shopping.

Aug 5, 2021 17:25:53 GMT -5 ellipses84 said:

I don’t have any experience, but wanted to say do it! I’m probably jaded but I fully believe there’s going to be a lot more power outage due to climate crisis / natural disasters. I know in Houston they tend to put them on a raised platform so they don’t get destroyed in a flood. That may not be a concern in your area, but it looks like your pool heater is downgrade from everything else so you may want to consider that. I don’t recall new ones being noisy at all but you may want to ask. Even an outdoor a/c unit buzz can be annoying if you are trying to relax by a quiet pool. We stayed in a house and had to use one. It was on the exterior side of the house but the main stairs were on the inside wall so there was a buffer.

This is a huge part of why I want a Generac.  I've been extremely fortunate to not have many power outages in my area, but I fear they are going to become more common/worse with climate change.  I've been on the fence about the cost being "worth it" for a few years, but I've reached the point where I'm ready to do it.

I would call them and ask for a price for members. Annual membership costs less than $200 so it could easily be worth it.

[dr.girlfriend]

Interesting. I just used the "which generator do you need" on the Generac website and it said under $5k for the generator and $2k for installation.

Is there anything you need to do to maintain it?

[aprilsails]

Aug 6, 2021 20:28:19 GMT -5 dr.girlfriend said:

Interesting. I just used the "which generator do you need" on the Generac website and it said under $5k for the generator and $2k for installation.

Is there anything you need to do to maintain it?

The Generac units usually need a once a year maintenance. They will sell a maintenance package like your furnace guys do, or you could hire a technician if there are any in your area.

[Susie]

I'm reviving this thread with an update, in case it's helpful for anyone else considering a generator.  Ours is installed, but not quiiiiiite yet operational.

It has turned out to be a longer process than I expected.  Lots of steps!  I had a colleague at work who was doing the same thing, so he gave me his electrician's number.  That was a helpful starting point.

First electrician came out and assessed the situation.  That included figuring out how everything was wired, where the generator would be installed, and doing load calculations to determine what size generator to order and which circuits to power with it.  He priced out 18, 20, and 24 kw Generac Guardian generators.  Frankly the price difference was nominal so we got the 24 kw, which will power everything with room to spare.  We ordered it in the fall, with expected delivery time of June 2022.

(In the meantime we had him do a bunch of unrelated electrical work in our house, which muddies a straight assessment of total costs associated with the generator.)

In December we had a plumber out to do some unrelated gas line work, and also to assess what needed to be done with the gas line to bring it to the generator.  Ultimately, we are using the same line that once led to a gas pool heater (that we have since removed).  He's just inserting a joint and the rest of the line to the old heater is capped off, buried, and unused.  That part was particularly easy.

The generator came in early, in March.  Electrician came by to do some other unrelated work, and to run the numbers on gas consumption.  The generator consumes up to 306 BTU/hr., and the utility company requires that we have a gas meter large enough to meter gas if we were to run the generator and all gas appliances at the same time.  Our meter was a standard 250k BTU/hr. meter, so we need to have it replaced before the generator can be operational.  We have a lot of gas appliances, so we're looking at something in the 500-600 btu/hr zone.  That is done via special request to the gas/electric provider, with demonstrated calculations, and then they send out their own contractor.  As you might imagine this piece has been a slow spot.  

A week or two ago, the electrician installed the pad for the generator to sit on, delivered the generator, and physically installed it.  A few days later he came back and handled all the wiring for the transfer switch.  It took 3-4 hours with the power to the whole house off while he was working on it.

A this point we are waiting for the utility company to replace the meter.  Once that happens, plumber can come back, connect the gas meter to the generator, and then we'll be done.  Woo!

Final phase is the fun part for me.  I will expand the garden beds around the generator to landscape it out of such prominent view.  



We've had two different neighbors mention they're thinking of doing the same thing.  I do think that as serious climate events become more frequent, I'm going to be increasingly glad to have it.

[deadwing]

I'm so jealous that you got this done!

I had a guy come out for a quote over the winter and, long story short, I need to upgrade my gas service line to the street to support a generator. The quote from my utility company is almost as much as the generator itself (including install and everything). So at this time, it's a no-go for me. Maybe in a few more years. The real kicker is the reason I would need the upgrade is because of the gas firepit I installed last year. Odds are it would never run at the same time as the generator. If I had done the generator first, I wouldn't need the service line upgrade. Because it exists, they HAVE to account for it just in case I'm having a fire and the power goes out.

[dr.girlfriend]

Thanks for the update!