Power Failures - Whole House Generators in Houston area? (transfer, buy)

[rugby]

We had a 17Kw installed when we built our house in Louisiana last year. It cost $6,400 for the unit and installation, our builder laid the cement pad. It is connected to the gas line. It is a Generac, lthe company services it also.
We hope to have one installed in our new home (to be built) in League City.

[chris_ut]

Centerpoint is currently offering to pay a couple hundred towards the cost if you buy a NG powered backup generator right now.

[chad.roper]

really for what the generator would be used for I would just buy a 7kw generator with a Lester diesel engine. It has an electric starter and if the battery is dead it also has a rope starter. I used mine after hurricane Ike and it was quieter than most of the gas generators and it doesnt burn as much fuel as the same sized gasoline generator. If the hurricane messes up the pumps on the gas pipelines and they cannot pump it you wont have gas to run it. Also if the battery goes dead you wont be able to start it up. My grandparents have a 20kw generator that runs off propane at their house but their electricity goes off about 2 times a week so they were able to justify spending 14,000 on it. My generator can run the refridgerator, computer, some fans and lights.

[Dougishere2]

Messing up the Gas Pipelines is Highly unlikely.

[EasilyAmused]

They hook right into the Natural Gas Line. Houston Generators is the place to call. They do run most of the house, not all, so pick the AC unit you want to run. Also, they aren't all that quiet. My parents had a whole building built around it to quiet it. It starts up once a month on it's own to check itself. They get a call from their neighbors every time.

Or you can buy a Honda generator, they are pretty quiet and will run quite a bit. And they are about 1/4 of the price of the whole house one.

[HookTheBrotherUp]

I'd go for the whole house models. For the ultimate, there are models that can run off of LNG, LPG and gasoline. People with medical conditions that warrant the use of AC for actual life dependency install these; my friends dad in Meyerland has one of these installed for that reason. I also have a neighbor here in Katy that had one installed in his new home, only months old when Ike hit. The entire neighborhood was without power, and those fortunate enough to have small generators did okay, but this guy continued as if nothing happened. However, as someone mention, you could hear it at night.... but it may have been due to the fact that the rest of us had no electricity, so no other noise was present. In the dead of winter, I can hear cows from my home too!

[AlexTx]

Does anyone know if people with solar panels on their homes continued to have power during the Ike power outage? I think I'd rather go that route.

[jimboburnsy]

Originally Posted by DJboutit

For a house 3500 to 4500 sqft you are gonna need 2 of the big ones I know the big work for a house up to about 2500 sqft

Some family members have a house that size. They have (I think) a 15 kW natural gas standby generator that will power the A/C, refrigerator and freezer circuits in addition to the den (where the TV and computers are) and kitchen auxillary circuits. It's a stripped down operation, but looks pretty great in the aftermath of a hurricane. I believe that generators in that range will retail between $3k and $5k. Unless you are pretty handy with wiring and natural gas plumbing there would be some considerable additional expense associated with the install.

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by AlexTx

Does anyone know if people with solar panels on their homes continued to have power during the Ike power outage? I think I'd rather go that route.

You would need a lot of solar panels and a very large bank of batteries to maintain power during the night. And, of course you would hope that your solar panels are still on the roof after a hurricane.

A lot of HOAs in MPCs also outlaw solar panels. You would need to make certain it was OK to install them in your neighborhood.

A good Honda Generator, some extra fuel, and some good fans in your house is probably the most practical and economical way to go. We're talking about survival here, not maintain your lifestyle unchanged. If you have a big house, turn off one of your air conditioners and close off half the house. It's a matter of getting by without too much discomfort and keeping your food fresh.

Also get a propane grill if you have an electric range in the house. Not much you can't cook on a propane grill including coffee, bacon, and eggs in the morning if need be.

[Trudysmom]

I have been looking into a whole house generator just today! How interesting to see the thread. I get ill when I get hot so I am looking into it. Hooked up to the gas line. Seems more homes would add them when building. We have a generator that runs on gasoline, but it is hard to have enough gas.