Whole house generator

[Amethyst]

I can see my response now. "If you wanted a generator, why didn't you buy one?"

Ah - on review, I see I am not the only one. OP imagines her defaulting to "Well, he's an engineer and I'm not, so my credit card only works on girly things."

In my experience, if one presents an engineer with an appliance, he or she will either install it or take it apart. But he or she cannot leave it alone.

Our generator could be in action soon. We're having an ice storm and friends a few miles away are without power.

Their Facebook exchange was priceless.

Friend: "Our electricity is out"
reply: " Why - because of the storm?"
Friend: " No - because my husband didn't buy a generator"

 

[tb001]

The power issues are very uneven across California. Most issues I think are in the heavily forested areas. Not a problem in San Diego for instance.

It is a big state with a huge diversity of environments.

LOL. We’re in SD and our generac is on deck to be installed in October. We get utility shut downs all the time during the Santa Ana winds. It just depends on where you live in SD.

FWIW, we found shopping for a house backup to be a little like shopping for a car. The sales tactics were terrible and the salespeople were clueless about their product. But relentless in their follow up. We finally went through the Costco program.

 

[Lsbcal]

LOL. We’re in SD and our generac is on deck to be installed in October. We get utility shut downs all the time during the Santa Ana winds. It just depends on where you live in SD.

FWIW, we found shopping for a house backup to be a little like shopping for a car. The sales tactics were terrible and the salespeople were clueless about their product. But relentless in their follow up. We finally went through the Costco program.

Our son lives in SD. He experienced no power down outages. So yes ... it depends. Here we have had several outages where we just look across the valley to see lights on. Frustrating.

We have thought about a generator but so far have just toughed it out. Most outages are pretty short and during the outages in Sept to Oct I have put large jugs of frozen water in the refrigerator. Also we keep a low food inventory at that time of year. And we read on our iPads with candles to light the room. Charging is done via car battery and we go out to dinner.

Would only be a problem if outages last >24 hours or if the weather is super hot or if the weather is super cold. So far have not the extreme weather plus outages.

Also both PGE and the city have done several things to mitigate the situation. Helicopters for line checks, shorter outages with good communications on what is happening, tree trimming, etc.

Note, I am not anti-generator and we reserve the right to change our methods.

 

[tb001]

Yeah, if it were only 24 hrs, no problem. But we were out for 4 days last fall and the initial estimate from the power company was a week! We decided then to bite the bullet and get a back up system in place. I somehow don’t see it getting less frequent unless there’s enough pressure on the utility companies that they start burying the lines.

 

[Lsbcal]

Yeah, if it were only 24 hrs, no problem. But we were out for 4 days last fall and the initial estimate from the power company was a week! We decided then to bite the bullet and get a back up system in place. I somehow don’t see it getting less frequent unless there’s enough pressure on the utility companies that they start burying the lines.

This reminds me of the 2017 outage. We are on the edge of the city. Fires were very bad and we eventually had to evacuate. This affected a large swath of the city and eating out was not so easy. But since then through concerted effort institutions (PGE, city, Comcast, TMobil, Cal Fire, etc.) have reacted well to mitigate the situation. Yes, there are still concerns. Easy to get cynical.

Last year with the pandemic raging we were again evacuated. Smoke in many California cities. Luckily we found a safe spot down in Monterey.

Climate change affecting ecology. We will have to live with it for years.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

Yeah, if it were only 24 hrs, no problem. But we were out for 4 days last fall and the initial estimate from the power company was a week! We decided then to bite the bullet and get a back up system in place. I somehow don’t see it getting less frequent unless there’s enough pressure on the utility companies that they start burying the lines.

I totally agree on burying the lines. Yes the initial cost would be massive but the long term benefits of less wildfires, less arson fires, less equipment damage, less outages and less lawsuits and don't forget less ugly power lines all would be a definite plus.
I am also in the market for a portable backup generator in So Cal. Hopefully I will never need to use it but I suspect it's gonna get a lot worse before it gets better

 

[ERD50]

I totally agree on burying the lines. Yes the initial cost would be massive but the long term benefits of less wildfires, less arson fires, less equipment damage, less outages and less lawsuits and don't forget less ugly power lines all would be a definite plus.
I am also in the market for a portable backup generator in So Cal. Hopefully I will never need to use it but I suspect it's gonna get a lot worse before it gets better

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...ldfire-blackout-fix-unlikely-work/3946935002/

It costs about $3 million per mile to convert underground electric distribution lines from overhead,
...
California has 25,526 miles of higher voltage transmission lines, and 239,557 miles of distribution lines, two-thirds of which are overhead, according to CPUC.

The article is a jumble (far too typical), they bring these state-wide 6 significant figures, then round to 2/3rd are above ground (just give me the number!), then go on to talk about the costs specific to PGE and customer costs ($15,000 per household if divided evenly? Why would you do that?). And nothing about how they might be able to prioritize.

So (25526 + 239557) ⋅ (2 ∕ 3) = 176,722 miles of lines. Times $3M is $530 Billion. If you divided it up by annual usage, large industrial users would be covering a good portion of it, but that would still leave a lot for each home (I'll let someone else try to do that calculation). But the industries would have to pass the costs on to the consumer, likely making them less competitive, driving down wages of the people who also have to pay this cost. I don't think it is so easy.

CA GDP ~ $3.1 Trillion, so that would be ~ 17% of one year's GDP. Spread it over 10 years, and it's 1.7%, and you could probably spread it out over 15~20 years with good prioritization.

So maybe that is do-able? OK, talk to your neighbors, get them on board. Get it done!

-ERD50

 

[Sunset]

Our son lives in SD. He experienced no power down outages. So yes ... it depends. Here we have had several outages where we just look across the valley to see lights on. Frustrating.

We have thought about a generator but so far have just toughed it out. Most outages are pretty short and during the outages in Sept to Oct I have put large jugs of frozen water in the refrigerator. Also we keep a low food inventory at that time of year. And we read on our iPads with candles to light the room. Charging is done via car battery and we go out to dinner.

Would only be a problem if outages last >24 hours or if the weather is super hot or if the weather is super cold. So far have not the extreme weather plus outages.

Also both PGE and the city have done several things to mitigate the situation. Helicopters for line checks, shorter outages with good communications on what is happening, tree trimming, etc.

Note, I am not anti-generator and we reserve the right to change our methods.

A BBQ is always nice to have during a power failure.

 

[old medic]

We have outages about every year or so, mostly just a few hours... but over the 35+ years We have had several major outages lasting days... 9 being the longest. We toughed that one out, but got a small portable generator after that. As for a whole house Gen... not a chance... we have several at work on different emergency buildings... and last years major outage more than half didn't work right...
A good thing about living in a camper... We have had the power go out and never knew about it.... LOL only lose A/C, Microwave and coffee maker...

 

[sengsational]

A BBQ is always nice to have during a power failure.

I like how you think

 

[CRLLS]

Sorry, I don't need a BBQ, even though I have a couple. My gas stove cooktop will work just fine. I just need matches to light it. I don't think the oven would work though what with the electronic temperature control system.

 

[Souschef]

We have had a few outages, and we have a 4600 W generator. The first thing we power is the refrigerator and freezer. Since the outlet for the fridge is behind it, I bought a 6 foot appliance extension so I can hook it up.
Our gas stove will work, and we have a spare tank for the BBQ.
We have lots of canned goods in our shed, and a can opener (very important) along with paper plates and plastic utensils.
We also have a minimum of 12 gallons of bottled water.

 

[Lsbcal]

We have had a few outages, and we have a 4600 W generator. The first thing we power is the refrigerator and freezer. Since the outlet for the fridge is behind it, I bought a 6 foot appliance extension so I can hook it up.
Our gas stove will work, and we have a spare tank for the BBQ.
We have lots of canned goods in our shed, and a can opener (very important) along with paper plates and plastic utensils.
We also have a minimum of 12 gallons of bottled water.

Don’t forget all that beer too. And wine for the discriminating.

 

[Souschef]

Don’t forget all that beer too. And wine for the discriminating.

Absolutely! we always have them on hand

 

[NW-Bound]

A BBQ is always nice to have during a power failure.

Sorry, I don't need a BBQ, even though I have a couple. My gas stove cooktop will work just fine. I just need matches to light it. I don't think the oven would work though what with the electronic temperature control system.

Any means of cooking the meat as the freezer is thawing is good, instead of throwing it away.

Don’t forget all that beer too. And wine for the discriminating.

How easy is it to get ice from local stores in such power outage events? I would not care for warm beer.

 

[Zathras]

We have a partial home backup via Tesla Powerwalls.
HVAC, fridge, sump pumps, microwave, network, a couple TVs and some lights. Oh yes, and the car chargers/garage doors as well.

The backup supply allows our solar panels to continue to generate power during a grid outage. Basically, we could go from April to October without grid power. November and March would be a bit hit and miss.
During the worst cold spell in winter, without any sun, we have about a week's worth of power.

I have recently seen Generac getting into the battery backup market. Happy to see more companies jumping in.

 

[travelover]

.......How easy is it to get ice from local stores in such power outage events? I would not care for warm beer.

Ice goes very fast in a power outage, as do generators.

 

[Souschef]

Ice goes very fast in a power outage, as do generators.

We have a separate icemaker in the garage, as the ones in fridges take up too much room in the freezer

 

[Winemaker]

Don’t forget all that beer too. And wine for the discriminating.

Hey, we don't discriminate, but we do set limitations!

 

[travelover]

We have a separate icemaker in the garage, as the ones in fridges take up too much room in the freezer

And does it work during a power outage?

 

[Souschef]

And does it work during a power outage?

Yes, because I run an extension cord from the generator to the icemaker.

 

[NW-Bound]

A 4600W generator is powerful enough to run a few circuits. I would install a transfer box for a more permanent installation.

 

[1242Vintage]

A 4600W generator is powerful enough to run a few circuits. I would install a transfer box for a more permanent installation.

This is exactly what I did.

Champion dual fuel 4600 w inverter generator. Poured 10x10 concrete pad next to my electrical panel and installed a manual transfer switch to run 5 circuits.

Only issue I had was with my dear wife. One of the circuits powers the outside lights on the house and lights down the driveway. She doesn’t want those on the generator since it “advertises” that we have a generator and might bring some unwanted attention. That’s one of the circuits I I had to have on the transfer switch since it powers my gate too.

Total cost was under $2k and a couple days of a sore back … from pouring concrete.

 

[Bamaman]

Talking about ice melting fast. In our case, it's when we have ice that our power goes out.

I was looking at the Preditor 9500 inverter generator that just came on the retail market. Being an inverter would make it perfect--even if it isn't a self contained unit for this purpose.

 

[travelover]

.........I was looking at the Predator 9500 inverter generator that just came on the retail market. Being an inverter would make it perfect--even if it isn't a self contained unit for this purpose.

I watched a YouTube review on that last night. Pretty awesome generator for the money. I have a 6000 watt open frame generator that I converted to natural gas, but it is noisy as heck.