Residential standby generator -- the ultimate HT UPS or too much of a good thing?

[Burke Strickland]

With all the power outages we face in the Houston area from storms (not just from hurricanes, although the outages tend to be longest after those storms), one of my buddies who is into home theater has suggested that having a built in natural gas powered standby generator would be a cool way to be able to keep watching movies during and after the storm. On the other hand, a more standard battery-powered UPS (uninterruptible power supply) would only give you enough time to shut things down gracefully, or watch a very short movie. :>)

Since the installlation of a stand by generator would be a major expense, it might be seen as overly extravagant to get it solely to power the HT. But I can think of a few other side benefits, such as having working AC, lights on when not watching movies, unspoiled food in the refrigerator, computer available, and the garage door opener still working at the press of a button. (I'm sure there are other benefits I'm not listing)

Anyone have any experience with a built in (or portable) electric generator for home use? If so, care to share thoughts and experiences about what to look for and whether it has been a good "investment"? Is the power from one of these generators actually "clean" enough to run HT electronics? (If not, it wouldn't be such a "good thing" regardless of cost.)

[Chris D]

Burke, this is something I've wanted to do for a while, too. Our house even is pre-wired for a generator at the main feed box, where in a power outage you could switch over to the generator, and throw a switch bar to only power preselected circuits. But I've never bought a generator. I do, however, have a VERY nice generator on my big RV. (I forget just how powerful--9000KW?) What I've been wanting to figure out, is how to output from the generator, to plug it into and power my house during an outage.

My priority (obviously?) during an outage is to power the fridge, the water pump, (we have well & septic) and the heating system. But sure... I'll take leftover power and watch TV, in the living room or bedroom. I don't know if I'd try to power my entire theater. I have some serious electronics in there, and it's also racked with stuff that runs the whole home A/V system, so we're talking quite a bit of power. I think I can wait on using the formal theater.

[Chris D]

Okay, that was weird. We usually only get 1-2 power outages a year, usually in the winter and due to high winds. But just 2 hours after posting that reply, we lost power for about 3 hours. Ended up being not a big deal, not really long enough to change temps in the fridge, and it's nice and moderately warm in the summer. I just lost my TV, and my laptop died after the battery ran out. Oh well.

[madmac]

I often thought of getting one for our house here in Montreal because if the power goes out and it's minus 25 degrees Celsius, our house built in 1950 can get damn cold damn quick!!. I never actually did it because a gasoline powered generator would need to be maintained and started regularly to insure reliable service. However, a natural gas powered one would be an interesting option. I did not know that they even existed. I would assume that these types of generators would need very little maintenance??.

[Burke Strickland]

I would assume that these types of generators would need very little maintenance??.

Dan, according to the dealers I've spoken with, (and as reflected on various vendor internet sites), after an initial installation test run, the current natural gas models are programmed to self-start for a ten-minute test run each month thereafter, and require an annual "tune up" (replace spark plugs, engine oil and filter, check connections and confirm unit is operating properly) which the owner can do, or have a "factory certified technician" do it for about $400 USD. That seems to be the going rate in this area regardless of brand.

Unless a part is defective, which should become obvious during the warranty period, or something just wears out over time with heavy use, they claim that's about it for for maintenance for a couple of decades. I'd be very interested in hearing whether that is true in the real life experience of someone who has one, as opposed to the dealer's optimistic marketing pitch.

[Lex]

I lost power for about an hour Sunday during a severe rain storm with lightning. It always seems to follow the same routine, it flickers or goes out ever so briefly, then comes back, then a minute or two later, BAM, it's out. I hadn't ate lunch, didn't really want to open the fridge and let cold air out, so my solution was, lay down and take a nap. When power came back, alarm clock woke me up with CD mechanism, and I was back in business... I hate power outages, it does take a significant generator to run AC, that is after all a 220 connection to a central unit, a small 110 AC window unit is a possibility for one room as an alternative. I would like to have it for all the things Burke mentioned, especially to maintain cable modem and enough power for my laptop. AC and fridge would be NICE.

I was out 5 hours in the spring, that was a pain. House got really hot. fridge held temp ok mostly. I like to keep my tablet charged so I can play a couple of games on it for a while. Really long ones, I get my truck out, crank the AC and go find something to do for a while. My Sister is in a place where they are sometimes out for a day or two due to fallen trees and limbs. I would not like that AT ALL.

[aud19]

If I ever win the lotto, I'll be putting one in that runs off the house natural gas line. As others have noted, I'd be more inclined to keeping things like fridges, alarm system etc running rather than the HT but YMMV :lol: