From what I have always heard, it has to do with building code and the region of the USA that the building is built in. Basements are more common in areas that get cold because the foundation has to go down lower than the level of ground freeze. Since the foundation is already is being dug down low, the cost of adding on the additional digging/work for the basement is minimal relative to the added property value that a basement may bring in living and storage space. I would guess this is the case even in areas of a high water table.

I am not a builder and do not know building code, so that may be total BS, but it is what I have been told a few times.

Can someone give me the basics?

I want complete power of everything. How big do I need?

Auto switching

Nat gas but with option to use propane or gas if NG goes out (how long would a grill tank last?)

What am I not asking about?

I installed a Kohler 20kW with 200Amp auto transfer switch. There wasn’t a huge cost difference between that and a 14 or 17 and I didn’t want to get cute and not have enough. Our big “sucks” are our well, air handlers and A/C. The transfer switches allow load shedding, so the A/C would just not power if there was too much demand. But you don’t usually “need” A/C. Assume that you have city water, so you would probably be fine with anything 14kW and up.

I have never seen units that will run both without some sort of change. Some may have a different orifice for NG vs LP, but it’s not a just hook up a different supply kind of thing.

A grill tank would not last long, figure ~1gal/hr.

My son is an electrician. He sized the generator and installed it and I believe that is pretty standard. It is a Generac NG unit that auto starts and connects. The power will come on in about 45 seconds. Powers the entire house, but I had the option to only power certain circuits.

If you want to do it yourself go on Generac's site. They have an app that estimates the size you need. I wouldn't want to do a self install after seeing what it takes, but to each his own.

We live in the "Sandy affected zone" and did not have utility provided electrical power for 11 days. The generator ran the entire time and never stuttered. We had gas heat, could cook, and had hot water. One of the few in the neighborhood.

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"...the street finds its own uses for things"

What was your all in? The generator starts around 5K

Did you see who asked the question?

I installed myself. About 7yrs ago.

It was this one, or the equivalent ;

https://www.lowes.com/...sfer-Switch/50029446

The quotes I was getting had the instal cost ~cost of unit, so ~$10k installed.

I probably had another $500-1000 in materials, the electrical run was ~120’, but the gas run was pretty short.

1.5 years ago 11k general town gas, 8K$. Also needed a deep concrete pad and moved up 4 ft due to flood plane. small house with 100 amp service.

Our big “sucks” are our well, air handlers and A/C. //


I think some of you need to reevaluate how much you really use, and/or need in emergencies? What the hell kind of well pump do you have, mine is 400ft deep with a 1 horsepower motor, so hardly anything. For sure A/C is the biggest suck, but I could power my entire 3000sq ft house with those portable 7.5k dual fuel generators that Costco sells for about $650. It takes regular gas or propane, and its about $200 more for the kit from Home Depot to hook up to your panel, so you can switch off some items. Not super hard to do, but even an electrician would probably charge no more than $300 to install. So just a little over a grand, and you are set to go.


But I do see this 10 to 15k Generac big monsters here and there, for sure nice, but not worth 10 to 15 times more than what I described. Maybe you all are powering 10 acres of indoor pot plants or something, just cant imagine what would require so much power. I have a 2k Honda generator that I just put extension cords into now, runs two fridges, tv and internet. So that with a flashlight and a couple candles, and I can get by a couple/few days. But I'm just about ready to pop for the system I described above, as soon as Costco can get some more in. They were completely sold out about a month ago when I went in, I think the fire thing here has juiced the generator business. Power folks are turning off power near fires, or when fire conditions are peaking, sometimes for over a week..

Whole house, Permanently installed with auto transfer wasn’t optional, as I’d wind up with 2 generator setups after we lose power when I’m away and the wife couldn’t get the system working.

With that out of the way, the total price difference between kW really wasn’t much different. Here in Nh we are good for a multi day outage at least once per year, so I really didn’t want to mess with what circuits were on or not on the generator. 14kW would have been fine with load shedding, 20kW allows for life to go on like normal.

But with the boiler, both air handlers and well pump going, along with lights and refrigerator, I don’t think that 7500 would have worked without way more electrical work. Wiring in a whole house set-up is way easier, and since I was doing it myself that was also a consideration.

I have a portable gas one.. it worked for the 2 times I had to pull it out. If we lost power like 4 or 5 times a year I would just get the whole house Natural gas. $3k or $4k is not that big a deal for the piece of mind. With a gas one, depending on how big the blackout is getting gas can be a pain. But if you go gas get 3 or 4 5 gallon tanks.

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Just Triing
Triathlete since 9:56:39 AM EST Aug 20, 2006.
Be kind English is my 2nd language. My primary language is Dave it's a unique evolution of English.