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Q. Could you offer some information on a whole house natural gas generator. I would like one that can operate the entire house: air conditioner, heat, lights and appliances. Are they purchased from an electric contractor? How many watts are needed for t he entire house? Do you need a service contract to service a generator? What needs to be serviced? Do you have to turn generator on or does it come on automatically when I loose power from BGE? Are these units noisy as loud as say a push lawn mower? Co uld you give a ball park cost of a generator and installation? How far from the house does unit the have to be located to prevent exhaust fumes from coming into the house?
A. Our most recent ice storm and the resulting massive power outages highlighted in the most basic way our occasional need for complete self sufficiency with regards to electricity in our homes. Many homeowners in our area not only lose heat and light w hen the power goes out but water as well. Being stuck in a freezing, dark house in which you can’t flush a toilet but once gets old very quickly. I know. I’m one of them.
Those with back up power supplies-- generators-- were and are the not just the lucky ones but are those who have planned ahead and invested the time and money to prevent something sometimes more than just an inconvenience. The last power outage I went th rough was in October so the heating issue wasn’t a big deal but last week it sure was and I think that was the point that has heated up the increased interest in some sort of a reliable back up power system and you have asked all the right questions.
Natural gas, if you have it to the house, is the fuel of choice for a permanently installed back up power source. You can power one with propane, gasoline or diesel if you must but natural gas is best.
There are many sources from which to choose when it comes to buying a generator and, as you might think, farm equipment retailers and construction suppliers are big sources of this type of equipment. Locally, Home Depot has jumped into the market and th ey have a salesperson, Richard Bonnett, out at the Defense Highway (Rt. 450) store who has specialized in them.
Determining the amount of power from a generator that you will want is fairly simple. First, determine what you want to power when the lights go out. Refrigerators, sump pumps and well pumps would be first on my list. Add up the wattage for all those thi ngs you want to run by the generator. Wattage is volts times amps. Sump pumps pull about 1500 watts, refrigerators 600 to 800 watts and well pumps over 1000. Remember that some household equipment runs on 220 volts, such as a well pump, while lights, sum ps and refrigerators are 110 volts and your generator has to be able to supply both. Since you also want heat, and you’ve got natural gas to the house already then you are in luck. Gas furnaces only need 120 volts AC and not too many amps because all the y need is spark for ignition and fans to blow heated air around. Ditto for oil. Heat pumps and air conditioners will be another story. You'll obviously need lots of power for them.
The most important aspect of the whole purchasing process is the installation. You must have a device called a transfer switch installed that incorporates a separate power distribution panel for the circuits served by the generator. This must be installe d by an electrician. It drives me up a wall when I run across amateur installations of quasi back up power systems that are at best dangerous, especially should any of the generated power leave the house going out the main powerline and injure or kill th e electric service repair person trying to restore power.
A proper installation includes a feature that turns the system on when it’s needed and off when the main power is restored. You don’t have to do a thing-- so you can’t do anything wrong.
Servicing is more a function of oil-changes and for that you follow the manufacturer’s recommendations. If the thing runs for a week one year and not at all the next the degree of maintenance may or may not change.
Sure they make noise but it isn’t that bad. They sound like a motor running with a deeper pitch than a lawn mower and if you are standing next to them you have to raise your voice to be heard. I was standing next to one during an inspection and the owner ran out to tell me that it was about to start up as part of its programmed maintenance to start up and run for a few minutes periodically and it did. Had she not told me that I would have jumped out of my skin not knowing it was about to fire up. This unit was located in a garage with the exhaust piped out to the rear of the building. Most are located outside near a wall and not far from the location of the house’s electrical panel.
The cost is a little more that five thousand dollars when it’s all said and done for the most useful 16 kilowatt model but if you need greater power the cost climbs and you can spent twenty thousand or more. Sounds like a lot of money until you find your self huddling by a fireplace with no heat or lights and the wind outside is whistling at twenty knots and the thermometer is in the teens and you have no idea when the power will come back.