Anonymous
07/03/2015 13:07
Subject: Anyone installed a generator lately?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:You can get an electrician to wire special plugs that your generators go into, and use them to power a few circuits.
Perfect! I get it. Amazing we didn't think of this. I have a 220 V receptacle outdoors from the 2nd 200 Amp box that rarely gets used. If the generator powered from that circuit only, then it could feed secondarily the sump pump (although we have a Zoeller back up battery system, but you never know) and the fridge at a minimum. We would still have to pull generator from garage since there is no shelter. We do cover it's top when using to protect it as much as possible.
Thank you very much for your help.
What you are saying makes no sense. You have to get a special generator hookup - they run between $1000-1500 from what we are getting, sometimes less and then you buy a separate generator you can store in a shed, etc. You not use existing an existing box as it goes into your main. You can also just get a generator and use a long cord to run it into the house but with kids I would not be comfortable with that.
You don't know what you are talking about. I am a new PP, my dad is an electrician and he set ours up for us. He wired up a receptacle to our back yard especially for the generator, and it goes to the box. We also have written down whih breakers it will be able to run at one time.
When we want it, we flip the power on to that receptacle and plug in the generator which has a short cord that is all outside. Arrange the other breakers according to need.
Always being sure, of course, that the generator is pulled away from the house so no CO poisoning is remotely a risk.
This cost a total of $1500 for our 3800 sf house. We can't run the AC but can run heat and all freezers/well/etc.
Anonymous
07/03/2015 12:56
Subject: Anyone installed a generator lately?
Ours is whole house, 20 kw.
Was about 18K for the generator, electrician, parts/labor, installing an underground 1000gal propane tank and connections.
We used to lose power for days, but since then it almost never goes out. Sigh.....
Was about 18K for the generator, electrician, parts/labor, installing an underground 1000gal propane tank and connections.
We used to lose power for days, but since then it almost never goes out. Sigh.....
Anonymous
07/03/2015 11:50
Subject: Anyone installed a generator lately?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:You can get an electrician to wire special plugs that your generators go into, and use them to power a few circuits.
Perfect! I get it. Amazing we didn't think of this. I have a 220 V receptacle outdoors from the 2nd 200 Amp box that rarely gets used. If the generator powered from that circuit only, then it could feed secondarily the sump pump (although we have a Zoeller back up battery system, but you never know) and the fridge at a minimum. We would still have to pull generator from garage since there is no shelter. We do cover it's top when using to protect it as much as possible.
Thank you very much for your help.
What you are saying makes no sense. You have to get a special generator hookup - they run between $1000-1500 from what we are getting, sometimes less and then you buy a separate generator you can store in a shed, etc. You not use existing an existing box as it goes into your main. You can also just get a generator and use a long cord to run it into the house but with kids I would not be comfortable with that.
Ok then, I thought electricians can devise dedicated circuits within the main panel(s). I imagined that when that outdoor circuit is used to power the pulled out generator, a gated wire circuit from that outlet opens to energize the sump and fridge only. I didn't know electrical do this. We already have the gas generator and we do use it during storms. I was hoping for the above, but if it isn't feasible, so be it.
Anonymous
07/03/2015 11:14
Subject: Anyone installed a generator lately?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:You can get an electrician to wire special plugs that your generators go into, and use them to power a few circuits.
Perfect! I get it. Amazing we didn't think of this. I have a 220 V receptacle outdoors from the 2nd 200 Amp box that rarely gets used. If the generator powered from that circuit only, then it could feed secondarily the sump pump (although we have a Zoeller back up battery system, but you never know) and the fridge at a minimum. We would still have to pull generator from garage since there is no shelter. We do cover it's top when using to protect it as much as possible.
Thank you very much for your help.
What you are saying makes no sense. You have to get a special generator hookup - they run between $1000-1500 from what we are getting, sometimes less and then you buy a separate generator you can store in a shed, etc. You not use existing an existing box as it goes into your main. You can also just get a generator and use a long cord to run it into the house but with kids I would not be comfortable with that.
Anonymous
07/03/2015 10:53
Subject: Anyone installed a generator lately?
Anonymous wrote:We're thinking of installing a whole-house generator (natural gas). Anyone done this? How big did you get? What did it cost (the generator, the gas line, and the installation)?
Any tips? Things you'd do differently?
Our house is a 1950s-style 1250 sf rambler (2200 sf including the finished basement).
$15-$20K easily for whole-house generator
Anonymous
07/03/2015 09:31
Subject: Anyone installed a generator lately?
You put these on bigger nicer homes
Anonymous
07/03/2015 09:26
Subject: Anyone installed a generator lately?
Anonymous wrote:You can get an electrician to wire special plugs that your generators go into, and use them to power a few circuits.
Perfect! I get it. Amazing we didn't think of this. I have a 220 V receptacle outdoors from the 2nd 200 Amp box that rarely gets used. If the generator powered from that circuit only, then it could feed secondarily the sump pump (although we have a Zoeller back up battery system, but you never know) and the fridge at a minimum. We would still have to pull generator from garage since there is no shelter. We do cover it's top when using to protect it as much as possible.
Thank you very much for your help.
Anonymous
07/02/2015 22:27
Subject: Anyone installed a generator lately?
You can get an electrician to wire special plugs that your generators go into, and use them to power a few circuits.
Anonymous
07/02/2015 20:43
Subject: Anyone installed a generator lately?
Anonymous wrote:OP - your costs should be around $9k-12K if you have medium size house and you're on level ground.
Our house on the other hand is around 4k sq. feet and due to our unusual spot of land, we were entertaining bids from $15k to $30k because of the amount of labor involved in installing the darn Generac.
DH thought that was ridiculous -- if this was a new build we would have thrown it into the cost of the house, but we recently bought this house and it would be straight out of the savings account.
So, DH bought 2 Honda gas powered generators that are hard wired into our electrical. Don't ask me how it all works but I will tell you that we spent more like $3k for this system and it powers most of what we need.
Also, we purchased two window air conditioning units so that we won't have to use our HVAC if the electricity goes off during the summer. We survived the awful derecho a few years ago -- never again. The window units only come out during emergencies -- they are surprisingly light weight.
This has me curious. Were do the 2 Honda generators sit outside? Basically they then wired them from home power supply or garage secondary box? Sounds like a good alternative, and one we could actually do. We do have a generator which we pull out from garage and use during electrical outages like a couple recent days.
I don't understand the window air conditioning unit usage when power goes out, unless they too are hard wired to your main power supply that is linked to your gas generators. Is that how your system works? Great idea.
Anonymous
07/02/2015 15:29
Subject: Anyone installed a generator lately?
OP - your costs should be around $9k-12K if you have medium size house and you're on level ground.
Our house on the other hand is around 4k sq. feet and due to our unusual spot of land, we were entertaining bids from $15k to $30k because of the amount of labor involved in installing the darn Generac.
DH thought that was ridiculous -- if this was a new build we would have thrown it into the cost of the house, but we recently bought this house and it would be straight out of the savings account.
So, DH bought 2 Honda gas powered generators that are hard wired into our electrical. Don't ask me how it all works but I will tell you that we spent more like $3k for this system and it powers most of what we need.
Also, we purchased two window air conditioning units so that we won't have to use our HVAC if the electricity goes off during the summer. We survived the awful derecho a few years ago -- never again. The window units only come out during emergencies -- they are surprisingly light weight.
Our house on the other hand is around 4k sq. feet and due to our unusual spot of land, we were entertaining bids from $15k to $30k because of the amount of labor involved in installing the darn Generac.
DH thought that was ridiculous -- if this was a new build we would have thrown it into the cost of the house, but we recently bought this house and it would be straight out of the savings account.
So, DH bought 2 Honda gas powered generators that are hard wired into our electrical. Don't ask me how it all works but I will tell you that we spent more like $3k for this system and it powers most of what we need.
Also, we purchased two window air conditioning units so that we won't have to use our HVAC if the electricity goes off during the summer. We survived the awful derecho a few years ago -- never again. The window units only come out during emergencies -- they are surprisingly light weight.
Anonymous
07/02/2015 15:10
Subject: Anyone installed a generator lately?
Anonymous wrote:We're in the middle of getting one now. It has been a long f***ing hassle. I'm sure the first time we lose power for any real length of time, I'll say it was worth it. But right now I'm pissed about the damage to my yard/landscaping, the disruption the gas work caused to my neighbors (blocked parking and sidewalk, mess, noise, etc.), and how long and drawn-out the process has been.
The gas line work was done weeks ago and now we're waiting to get on the schedule for installation of the actual generator.
The process of getting approval for the gas line work, then getting the work schedule, has taken months.
FWIW, we're in the District in a ~2k sq ft house and it cost $10k.
Can I ask whether you already had a gas line to the house, but the generator required an additional line, or additional work, or whether you had a gas line put in because of the generator? Just wondering as I have considered putting in a generator as well, and hadn't considered the kind of disruption you are describing. But I know absolutely nothing about what would be required, only know that I already use gas in my house.
Anonymous
07/02/2015 14:35
Subject: Anyone installed a generator lately?
We're in the middle of getting one now. It has been a long f***ing hassle. I'm sure the first time we lose power for any real length of time, I'll say it was worth it. But right now I'm pissed about the damage to my yard/landscaping, the disruption the gas work caused to my neighbors (blocked parking and sidewalk, mess, noise, etc.), and how long and drawn-out the process has been.
The gas line work was done weeks ago and now we're waiting to get on the schedule for installation of the actual generator.
The process of getting approval for the gas line work, then getting the work schedule, has taken months.
FWIW, we're in the District in a ~2k sq ft house and it cost $10k.
The gas line work was done weeks ago and now we're waiting to get on the schedule for installation of the actual generator.
The process of getting approval for the gas line work, then getting the work schedule, has taken months.
FWIW, we're in the District in a ~2k sq ft house and it cost $10k.
Anonymous
07/01/2015 22:07
Subject: Re:Anyone installed a generator lately?
We had one installed about 2 1/2 years ago. It cost about $8500-9000, as I recall (our house is about 5000 square feet, probably 6000 w/ the basement). It was a whole-house Generac generator. I don't remember the wattage. Just about the size of an A/C unit. We have LOVED having it because our street loses power quite a bit. Since we've had ours installed, two of our neighbors got them too.
The only delays were waiting for the gas company to look at it, and the county had to come out and look at it for permitting purposes two separate times. Otherwise, it was a pretty easy process.
The only delays were waiting for the gas company to look at it, and the county had to come out and look at it for permitting purposes two separate times. Otherwise, it was a pretty easy process.
Anonymous
07/01/2015 07:17
Subject: Re:Anyone installed a generator lately?
Anyone? Buehler? Buehler?
Anonymous
06/28/2015 23:35
Subject: Anyone installed a generator lately?
We're thinking of installing a whole-house generator (natural gas). Anyone done this? How big did you get? What did it cost (the generator, the gas line, and the installation)?
Any tips? Things you'd do differently?
Our house is a 1950s-style 1250 sf rambler (2200 sf including the finished basement).
Any tips? Things you'd do differently?
Our house is a 1950s-style 1250 sf rambler (2200 sf including the finished basement).