We had another power outage this week, and it concerns me as I have an all electric home. I've contacted the gas company, and, to my surprise, they will install a gas line from the street to the meter location FREE! Now I need help on the details. I've searched old posts, and am not finding what I need to know.

As far as the gas service goes, I want the install to include the ability to run lines up and down stairs so when it's time to replace the HVAC, I can go gas. Same deal with the water heater.

I'm looking at a Generac whole house model. Looks like about 4200 plus install of maybe 2000.

Am I missing anything?

Thanks for the help!

I've looked into a whole house now for two different homes at different locations. Here's my take.

In addition to the Generator (Generac good choice) there is the transfer switch. Then the install which depending on where you are there are permits and inspections. A 20kw installed, switch, and misc. will be about 12k depending on the old greed and need formula.

The thing that kept me from doing it was we had to use propane. That means a 500 to 1000 gal. tank needs to be purchased or rented if you want much longevity. The cost of operation is about $90 a day on propane. That's expensive electricity.

You should be much better off with natural gas. You'll have infinite longevity and at a much lower price per day. Hope this helps.

We have a 20kw Generac whole home system installed running on propane. My suggestion up front would to be to contract with an electrician to monitor your current power utilization. That data will help you properly size a generator for your needs. And as nosticks noted, our cost to install everything was around $11k.

Factor in potential expansion when sizing the generator. We put in a Generac system, sized for our existing needs and then a few years later, we air-conditioned the basement.... as a result we can't run the whole house on the system.

Which is no problem as we can just turn off the basement AC/heat, but if we'd thought ahead, we'd have sized the generator/switch to deal with it.

Kohler is a step up in quality from Generac. I also agree on calculating the unit for your usage. Here in FL, if the generator is not large enough to run the entire house (with everything on), you have to switch a lot of your breakers to quick trip breakers on items the generator can't run, and normal breakers on the ones you want it to run and it can power which gets pricey. It's better to size it appropriately. Natural Gas is the way to go.

I've also heard that the Generac components are not as good as Kohler's.

Sold, serviced, and installed generators for years. In my area it's $11-13k (22kw) installed depending on distance between gas/electric/generator. Since you are an all electric house you will also need load shedding and if it's cold enough to use emergency heat (15-20kw by itself) you'll be serverly limited on what you can run with EM Heat. Once you get gas furnace and hot water heater, then you'll be able to power most homes like there isn't even an interruption in power.

Another vote for Kohler over Generac, but that might depend on local service availability. Go with a reliable local company.

We went with a portable generator. Craftsman 5500. When the power goes I push the transfer switch, run the generator out, then plug it into the outside house outlet. Once running, it powers the entire house.
I get over 8 hours on a tank of gas and stock 10 extra gallons with extender added.
We can run anything. Generally, it’s the furnace and lights.
Yes, the generator is chained and taken in at night. The house stays warm until the next morning.
Longest we’ve been without power was four days. The neighbors have standing invites to come over.

quote:

Originally posted by Chris42:
Another vote for Kohler over Generac, but that might depend on local service availability. Go with a reliable local company.

Before you pull the trigger on either of these, make sure to check out Cummins/Onan. They're new to the home generator market, but their units are very nice, and Onan has been around forever.

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:

quote:

Originally posted by Chris42:
Another vote for Kohler over Generac, but that might depend on local service availability. Go with a reliable local company.

Before you pull the trigger on either of these, make sure to check out Cummins/Onan. They're new to the home generator market, but their units are very nice, and Onan has been around forever.

They are not new. They are considered one of the best there is, but you need to have a servicing company local, which is the tricky part.

My Kohler has been 100% trouble free since installed 6 years ago.

Generac does not enjoy a similar reputation locally, but I have heard they're getting their act together.

My neighbor has a Kohler - after Harvey when our power was down for days, his generator went out. Took him weeks go get someone out to fix it. After that experience I went with Generac. They have several giant sales/service centers in my area. I want to say I spent around $13k to have everything installed, including having a large pad poured to keep the unit up above the height o the house foundation.

Even with a 22KW generator you still have to make compromises. You cannot run 3 house ACs, the cook top, oven, appliance, lights, and pool pumps all at the same time.


+

I do it more piecemeal, already have the woodstove for heat.

That is a smaller portable Honda I can rotate important stuff with. Our power is fairly reliable, though we did lose for 6-ish hours during an ice storm last Winter.

My portable generator gets used at camp, remote areas, and formerly with a camper trailer.

quote:

Originally posted by Abn556:
My neighbor has a Kohler - after Harvey when our power was down for days, his generator went out. Took him weeks go get someone out to fix it.

What specifically went out on the generator?

Was he self-performing, hiring out, or not performing the annual maintenance?

When he originally bought it, was it from Kohler dealer that does sales, service, and installation? If yes, are they titanium, platinum, gold, or regular?

The reason I ask all of this is that I had a Kohler installed last year. The owner, a master electrician, of the Titanium level (1 of 2 in Texas) sales, service, and installation company sat at my kitchen table, provided the quote, and walked me through the process (i.e. much different than buying off the Internet and clicking a box to get some random low bidder to install it).

It's good to ask if your missing anything

Some generator sales groups tend to go for the sale and let you read the fine print yourself


What size generator were you quoted?

A 20 kW in our area for a house with water pump, AC and gas heat starts around $10,000

Do you have well pumps,or AC units you are powering up?
Freezers, refrigators

All electric heat? Baseboard?
If you have a heat pump did they size the unit for any aux electric-heat strips

Did the price include

Generator
Delivery ,install,and Gen startup
Pad for Gen
Gas install from meter to generator?
Automatic Transfer switch
All electrical connections
Permits and inspections

Different brand generators will cause your price to very but the install prices for similar size generators should be close.

While you are shopping take a look a SDMO. I have a 40kw SDMO with diesel John Deere engine that we have had since 2006. They also make a natural gas powered unit with a wide range of size options. It is a whole house unit that powers two residences with power to spare. We have an automatic transfer switch that starts when line power drops off for more than a few seconds and it exercises itself for 30 minutes once a week.

One thing we learned the hard way is that the automatic transfer switch is expensive and susceptible to lightning strikes like everything else electronic in your house. A whole house surge protector may be a worthwhile investment when you are having your generator installed.

quote:

A whole house surge protector may be a worthwhile investment when you are having your generator installed.

If you electrician is not offering a surge protector he's not doing his job.

A huge amount of power surges are due to power interruptions and restoration of power. You know why people buy generators? Power interruptions.

Definitely Kohler > Generac. We have a 15kW Kohler unit that I selected after much comparison shopping.

It's been about 10 years and with regular scheduled DIY-level maintenance (oil changes, etc.), it still runs flawlessly.

-Rob

Much to consider. Although we are all electric, we use very little electricity relatively speaking. I will have the monitoring done.

Thanks for all the good info. I have a local company who has provided outstanding service for HVAC/plumbing, so we'll see what they say.