Let’s Talk… Should you Get a Whole Home Generator for Power Outages?
I’m from New Orleans and I live in Houston. I know what it’s like when the power goes out for an extended period of time. When a powerful windstorm known as derecho hit Houston last month, killing eight people and knocking out power for nearly a million homes, we decided it was time to get a generator.
Is a whole home generator worth the cost? At a quote of $14k delivered and installed, we were faced with this decision and decided against it. Here is what we did instead:
- Get a regular generator that runs on natural gas.
- Get an addition on your natural gas line that allows you to run natural gas from the main line to the generator (you’ll need a plumber to do this at around $400).
- Get an electrician to add a 50-amp breaker and an interlock that allows you to plug your generator into your main power box. We paid $850, but some electricians wanted to charge us $3K for the same service. It was enough to run lights, refrigerator, washer and dryer, a gas hot water heater, and even A/C. You may need to turn off the dryer when using A/C, but you won’t be without power.
What I’ve noticed is that when the power goes out, it’s not for long. This is a cheaper way to provide power to the whole house for a fraction of the cost. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me and I’ll give you more info on what I did.
The content in this material was created for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as an investment advice.
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.
