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[FallowedGround]

Anyone here own one or know someone who has one?

[Snowpuppy]

Worth every penny. Up here, they are the preferred brand of generator.Best money I've ever spent to sleep like a baby.

You can preview one at HD. Sales people are helpful without being pushy so you can ask about price, size you need for what you want to run, etc. Check with your local codes to see what they require for installation.

Generac will only warranty what is installed by a qualified Generac contractor. Using someone else will void the warranty.

There are two threads going back a few pages discussing whole house generators. Good luck!

[RedTop]

We live in southern WV, and purchased a 20 kW Generac whole house generator last year, and love it. Big expense initially, but when you're in a deep freeze situation, and you are comfortable and warm inside the house, you are thankful for the insight to have a generator that comes on automatically, and requires no effort from you.

We purchased our generator from the same heating and cooling company we buy our heat pumps from. The size generator we purchased is based on what is needed to run the heat pump and heat our whole house in the winter. Our fuel supply is propane, since natural gas is not available in our rural setting. Even though our generator is big, our house is bigger, and we do have to watch what we have running on generator power. When our generator kicks in, everything plugged into an outlet requiring electricity, is pulling propane from the tank to continue running. Therefore, we unplug all lamps, clocks, chargers, night lights, etc., so that the focus is on the essentials; heat pump, refrigerators, and freezer, and lights. Even with a big generator like ours, with a big house like ours, you find out you cannot run absolutely everything off the generator. We found out recently that we cannot use multi heat producing appliances at the same time the generator is running the heat pump. If someone needs to shower, we need to let the heat pump shut off and not let it run during the time hot water is being pulled from the water heater. We also cannot use the oven, or dry clothes at the same time the heat pump is running. Our main goal with a 20 kW generator is to run the heat pump in winter, so that the entire house is warm, and no pipes freeze. For summer power outages, air conditioning uses less generator power, so we would not have to alternate usage of our heat producing appliances.

Our family is absolutely supportive of generator power. Prior to this purchase, we used a borrowed portable generator to run our refrigerators and freezer during the derecho 2 years ago. Through that experience we learned how big of a hassle it is to use a portable generator, and the convenience of a larger one that is wired into the house is much easier, and far more efficient. Also far more expensive, but also a wise investment. My husband has COPD, and will at some point require home oxygen, so the generator will be here to supply power for that need as well. Best wishes to you with your purchase.

[FallowedGround]

Those are def good comments. Thanks. I'll search for the threads too. We periodically have, as some other major metro areas, rolling black outs. It looks like a good investment.

[Mominohio]

We have two, a smaller one we got first (all we could afford and find at the time) and a bigger one that is wired into the house, so whole house will function as normal. Best thing we did. We are able to keep the sump running in storms, have heat in the winter, and pump water (live on a well) for bathing and laundry, and runs two fridges and two freezers. Ours is a gasoline generator, and portable, so we can move it. We didn't have any other option as we are all electric. No access to natural gas, and would have to install a large propane tank for a gas generated one.

It does require that we keep gas on hand, and it does burn a lot, but we have learned during extended outages that we can use it for several hours on, then several hours off, to cut the amount of fuel burned. You just have to plan your day, and make it work. I can't imagine being without it now, as it gives such piece of mind during bad weather.