Home Standby Generators

[Swanee]

I decided to bite the bullet and get a whole home standby generator. We've lost power a few times during ice storms here in Western Michigan. When it's 20 degrees outside and spitting a wintry mix of Boreas's rage it really sucks to pull the portable generator out, fill it with fuel, plug it in, curse at it for not starting on the first (or fifteenth) pull. And wifey has told me she's not going to do all of that if I'm not home.

So a 24kW Generac was in the cards. It's enough to run everything in the house- including a ditra-heat floor in the sunroom as well as the EV charger.

Just for reference, the total cost was $13,800 and some change. That includes an additional $2,000 to have it plumbed and wired to the opposite side of the house from the electric and gas meters. Again, Kalamazoo, Mi prices. YMMV.

Lessons learned- get multiple quotes, ask for veteran discounts, ask about warranties and who does the servicing. A lot of installer companies don't service. That's less than optimal. Don't go through Costco. That 10% Costco cash card is just an additional 10% you'll pay. Ask the gas/electric company guy who comes to your house to upgrade your meter who they'd go with- they witness the workmanship from the other side.

Some people crap on Generac and swear by Kohler. Some people go the other way around. Go with the local company that has the best reputation. It's a Ford vs Chevy argument.

I figure a lot of folks here live in hurricane prone places so they may want this info.


And here's a photo of the pup who is happy his new generator will make sure he doesn't freeze in the next ice storm!

 

[Griz882]

Great info!

 

[HSMPBR]

Yeah, sure, “ice storm.”

It’s for when the aliens come.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

I had wondered about the cost of one of those or similar generators, mainly because we have lost power more times in the past 5 years than in the past 20. It is often due to wind/ice/snow storms but also due to drunk drivers hitting power poles, all 3 times were in the same block, twice it was the same pole in a week.

Some questions for you. How loud is it when running? When you say "whole home" is it like you never lost power and life continues on? When power goes off is there anything you need to do and when power is restored is there anything you need to do? Is there anything you don't like about it so far?

 

[MIDNJAC]

Nice generator. I’ve thought about this as well, but we also don’t have natural gas outside city limits (unless installed a tank). I have one of the dual fuel 12kw portable gens with a full transfer switch installed on our breaker and an external plug, but this would be next level since I believe it auto starts right? It is also fun that we have 9/10 digits of your phone number now. Expect a call

 

[ChuckMK23]

Smart move!!!! My family in Nor Cal have similar setup except they use propane that is delivered to house.

 

[SynixMan]

Was your house already wired for a generator or did that include the electrical piece (disconnect panel)? And since you said it runs your whole house I'm assuming you didn't do a critical load panel?

 

[ea6bflyr]

I had wondered about the cost of one of those or similar generators, mainly because we have lost power more times in the past 5 years than in the past 20. It is often due to wind/ice/snow storms but also due to drunk drivers hitting power poles, all 3 times were in the same block, twice it was the same pole in a week.

Some questions for you. How loud is it when running? When you say "whole home" is it like you never lost power and life continues on? When power goes off is there anything you need to do and when power is restored is there anything you need to do? Is there anything you don't like about it so far?

I also have a 20kw whole house GENERAC (propane). Added it when I built the house in 2019/2020. Power goes out, 10 seconds later, the generator is up and running the entire house. When power is restored, the automatic transfer switch kicks back over to street power and the generator turns off. Yes, it’s not quiet…but mine is on the other side of my garage, so little impact to inside noise. I purchased the extended warranty and it has paid for itself several times.

 

[Swanee]

I had wondered about the cost of one of those or similar generators, mainly because we have lost power more times in the past 5 years than in the past 20. It is often due to wind/ice/snow storms but also due to drunk drivers hitting power poles, all 3 times were in the same block, twice it was the same pole in a week.

Some questions for you. How loud is it when running? When you say "whole home" is it like you never lost power and life continues on? When power goes off is there anything you need to do and when power is restored is there anything you need to do? Is there anything you don't like about it so far?

There are lower wattage options that cost a bit less but they require load shedding.

With 24kW I don't require any load shedding. It will run everything in the house like we're on regular line power. That means AC in the summer and heat in the winter. And the EV charger if I really need it.

There is no human intervention required. The timeline goes like this: When the transfer switch detects a loss of line power for more than 5 seconds it starts the generator. Once the generator gets started and is able to put out power (5-15 seconds) it feeds the house. It runs until the transfer switch detects clean power steadily for more than 15 seconds- then it switches back to line power. Once on line pot it runs the shut down cycle of the generator.

It's quieter than most portable generators. It's quieter than my lawn mower and 2 stroke weed eater. I'd say it's as loud as a car engine with the hood open. You can have a conversation with someone standing next to it while it's running, you just have to speak up a bit (but not yell).

There isn't much that I don't like about it, but I haven't had to use it in extremis yet.

 

[Swanee]

Was your house already wired for a generator or did that include the electrical piece (disconnect panel)? And since you said it runs your whole house I'm assuming you didn't do a critical load panel?

The house wasn't wired for a generator so the transfer panel and surge protection (which covers both line and generator power) is included in that price.

And you are correct that I don't have a load shedding panel. 24kW will covered all of my electrical needs in the house.
Of note, I have a gas furnace, water heater, range and oven. I have an electric dryer, AC, heated sunroom floor and an EV charger that are all 240v at amperages between 30 and 50.

 

[Swanee]

I also have a 20kw whole house GENERAC (propane). Added it when I built the house in 2019/2020. Power goes out, 10 seconds later, the generator is up and running the entire house. When power is restored, the automatic transfer switch kicks back over to street power and the generator turns off. Yes, it’s not quiet…but mine is on the other side of my garage, so little impact to inside noise. I purchased the extended warranty and it has paid for itself several times.

The extended warranty and service packages are definitely worth it from what I hear.

Also, with Generac warranty claims are apparently a PITA if you don't have it serviced annually by a Generac service company.

 

[Swanee]

Nice generator. I’ve thought about this as well, but we also don’t have natural gas outside city limits (unless installed a tank). I have one of the dual fuel 12kw portable gens with a full transfer switch installed on our breaker and an external plug, but this would be next level since I believe it auto starts right? It is also fun that we have 9/10 digits of your phone number now. Expect a call

Yes this one auto starts.

And that's the wife's number! So call away. Or wait... No... Uh... She's happily married... Oh jeez. 🤣

 

[SynixMan]

The house wasn't wired for a generator so the transfer panel and surge protection (which covers both line and generator power) is included in that price.

And you are correct that I don't have a load shedding panel. 24kW will covered all of my electrical needs in the house.
Of note, I have a gas furnace, water heater, range and oven. I have an electric dryer, AC, heated sunroom floor and an EV charger that are all 240v at amperages between 30 and 50.

Good to know. We have a remodel coming up at some point and I want to have ourselves wired up for a generator but leave it as future growth. Generac has a solar integration too that's intriguing.

 

[Swanee]

Good to know. We have a remodel coming up at some point and I want to have ourselves wired up for a generator but leave it as future growth. Generac has a solar integration too that's intriguing.

It's a good idea to also have a 1 and 1/4 inch gas line run to where you want the generator- think about clearances (5 ft from the exhaust to a door or window), flat ground, not on a sprinkler head, away from a fence line, etc...

Had I known all of this I would have had the generator supply roughed in when we built the house. It's more expensive and some of it couldn't go through the floor joists. So I'll have to get creative when I finish the basement.

It would have been really nice to have it all plumbed and wired, so I just had to drop in the generator, install the panel, and Bob's your uncle.

 

[CAMike]

Speaking of load shedding I used my 2001Honda EU2000 as a teaching tool for my son. Last week there was a +-10 hour power outage in North Fresno. As soon as it began I opened the main breakers on the house 200AMP panel. I explained how and why we needed to shut off the pool pump, central heating system and solar circuit breakers before plugging in generator. I use a freakshow extension cord between the house outlet and the generator (male to male extension cord). In other words, get the ship to a minimal current draw setup before energizing. Started said EU2000 generator and warmed up for a minute. Plugged the double male extension cord into generator and then into an outlet on the side of the house. Frig was the biggest load and then I made him calculate the running amp of each light, computer etc and then double the current draw for initial load start up. Expense: $1000 for the gen, $5 for gas and $20 for the home made 10 gauge male to male ext. cord. We had power to run a 65” TV, refrigerator, computer and a dozen LED light around the house. The best part was that we utilized the existing wiring in the walls and had only used one 20’ freak extension cord. A SWOMAN/Poorman's way to save $10K on a back up generator system. 1 gallon of gasoline generated 9 hours of mixed load usage. (I have 2 generators that generally get used when boondocking in the 5th wheel.) The inverters on the EU2000’s self align in phase so adding a second gen is not an issue. We wisely chose not to energize the roof mounted SPS-49.
Not arguing the benefits of running a built in unit that provides like A/C and heat but in a pinch this set up keeps the basics operating.