We were without power this past Friday evening all night, there were no high winds or storms, just some rain for a bit. Power went out around 10:00PM and didnt return until 7 AM Saturday morning. Since the wife and I use a cpap, I was absolutely MISERABLE !! I could not sleep, got up and went to my recliner and tried to nap there but it was useless. I was up and awake pretty much all night. We also have my 92 year old mother in law living with us who is on hospice. Please school me on natural gas powered generators.....I know nothing at all about them( except that I dont own one, lol) . The upstairs is the living area,about 1600-1700 sq ft. We have a 3 ton gas pack for heating and air. The AC was replaced last month with a new unit. Would like to have power to cook on the stove(220 v) , have heat in winter and AC in summer and have some lights and a tv going. What do you Aldeer folks recommend? A certain brand better than others ( Generac vs Kohler,etc? ) About what will I be spending $wise? And any one you would recommend to do this?
Thanks in advance!!!

I have Generac on natural gas.

Electrician that done mine said they start at about $8500.

Installer should come and tell you what KW you need.

Just tell them you want one to run everything in the house.

Another vote for Generac. I had one installed about 15 years ago. Best decision I ever made. Mine will run everything. If it ever fails to start it is the battery. Mine is set to exercise the battery weekly (to keep it charged) but if battery is in any way weak it will fail to start. It took a couple of years for me to figure that out. Now I just replace it every 2 years. I dont care about battery warranty. I just want the thing to start without my having to touch it.

I change the oil twice a year or anytime it runs for more that 48 hours. I keep 3 extra filters and enough oil for 3 oil changes on hand.

I love mine.

I think Generac has a chart to help you decide how big you need. To my mind a generator is to get you by but I’m not that far removed from being Amish. I put one in a house once and the lady wanted her curling iron on it. You can probably get a charger included that keeps the battery charged. The commercial ones I worked on did.

You have options on this.
I have researched but haven't made any move yet.

You can get a UPS battery backup for around $200. This option lets you leave it plugged into the wall and UPS stands for uninterrupted power supply. They will run you for about 1-3 hours depending on size. These are the best for blinks and whatever short term stuff you may encounter.

The next option is just a small inverter generator that will run your machines and maybe fridge for $500-1,000. These are gas and you will have to pull extension cords and all.

Another is to wire up a switch probably $500 estimated and get a $2-$3k generator that will hook to it and run everything in your house through the wired system except ac, dryer, and stove. downside to this is not knowing when the lights come back on because you are switched over.

And of course a big whole home option around $10k that is all automated and kicks on pretty well instantly. Of course the price is this con but it also increases property value.


Anyway hope this helps, of course pros and cons have me hung up.

I have a 24KW generac that will run the whole house, auto switch, etc. About 12,000$ installed last September.

We have one and it has been great. Ours will run everything except the heat but that is manageable.

I have a plug and transfer switch and can hook my generator up and it runs everything in the house except the AC. If the power just goes out in the middle of the night, I have a battery pack made specifically for running my cpap. In the short time, I would look into getting a couple of those.

Will probably need to upgrade your gas meter. There is no cost for that

Generac work very well my power is out now and I am on whole house generator now

I am pretty sure this is exactly what I have. Price and all.

We had this same system installed in our new home almost 5 years ago, I service it, filters, oil and battery all come from local parts store.
No complaints at all.

I work closely with a Generac sales and service dealer. We use a sizer to determine the correct size. The most popular size is a 26 KW right now. It is the largest air cooled Generac makes. In my opinion, it’s not worth the extra expense to go to a liquid cooled. The 26 will handle most houses no problem. I recommend paying for the turn key install. We do several service calls where it’s obvious the installer(s) weren’t familiar enough with Generac’s install guidelines and therefore voided the warranty.

I'd do this if we had natural gas service.

Had a Generac 24kw in our last house. Installed around 1999 & we sold the house a little over a year ago.
I poured the concrete pad & had a local electric company install the generator with an upgraded transfer switch. Other than a temperature sensor that gave Generac techs fits, l was pleased with it. We should be starting a new-build shortly and seriously thinking of going Kohler product.

They can actually run off propane. Need at least a 250 gallon tank

I have a 24kw generac on a 1k gal propane tank.

Yes, sir. But when I've talked to folks about the consumption rate, a 250 or 500 gallons tank wouldn't last very long. It would be fine if electrical service was interrupted for hours. Not so good if service was out for days.