I am contemplating on getting a full house generator and need some feedback from you all.l. What is the best brand for quality and durability of a generator and what hp would I needThe house is about 2,000/sq ft, central A/C heat, all electric at the moment with the usual appliances.2. I want to connect permanently to breaker box for automatic turn on and will need fuel for it.3. In light of today's economy and potential collapse if one is in survival mode, is it better or cheaper to have butane or propane ?Also what size tank would need to buy, and how big is reasonable ? to last a good while or as needed.I am totally electric right now including water well pump so when power down, I'm sunk!!
Most of the permanent generators we install down here in Tx are natural gas powered that are connected to the utility. As far as name brand try the Kohler and Generac websites. These sites will also give you the gas consumption rates for the different units. They have alot of good info on sizing. Being as you have all electric it will need to be a decent sized unit to back up the whole home. You could always choose to backup only certain circuits and appliances to bring the demand load down and in turn bring down the size of the gen as well. I've installed 17KW to 100KW(Big Custom Home) units on homes. An automatic transfer switch comes with most stand alone generators. These will sense the utility power drop below a certain voltage and tell the generator to start and will automatically switch to generator power. When the utility power comes back on it will automatically switch back over and stop the generator. Most generators will also test themselves weekly. You can set the time and day for this test.One thing I would recommend is the importance of maintenance. Most generators need to be serviced 2 times a year. I've seen homeowners who did not have a good service plan in place be stuck in the dark when the generator did not work or did not work for long.
With electric heat, you're into a large generator. 'Automatic on' means a transfer switch generator control panel. If you're thinking about 'survival mode' diesel is your best fuel option. (More widely available, less tech. support for refueling, and stores well.) You might consider an engine heat capture system for efficiency in winter conditions. You probably need about 20-25KVA to handle full load with heating. (That's only a 'guestimate, DO do the math before you select a unit.) This won't be cheap.
