What a ****ing loser especially during a tough time for the city. Go **** yourself OP. There's a reason you're a rookie.
I know someone that has a generac generator. I don't know how big it is or what all they ran off of it. He said he they used it for several days and it used 500 gallons of propane.
Might get something in the future, but I'm not really jealous of people with generators. They can run a fridge, maybe, have fans and charge cell phones. Maybe you can power a window unit AC. Still paltry in the face of Houston summer. I don't see the point in a backup that can't cover the HVAC load around here.
I've had both, the small ones make things considerably more liveable and can power a window unit allowing you to cool one room, keep phones charged, and power a TV and other devices. I then upgraded to a natural gas full home generator that makes it like nothing even happened. The only downside is they are a bit loud if they are right next to a bedroom. Now that I've had it for years, I can't imagine living here without it. It's very worth the cost IMO.
During Ike we didn’t have power for 18 days as a tree took out the power of our block. had a small gas generator and it ran a window unit, fridge, cable, internet, tv, microwave and toaster over and lights in our bedroom. No kids at the time so it was doable. It was an effing life saver.
I was never one to think I needed a generator, and this week changed me, part of it was I have only been without power for a night or two. TBH I didn't even realize you could hook up a window unit to one, once this is over I am getting one plus a window unit. I ended up sleeping at my work all week but talk about a hassle
If you can afford one, and have a room where you can camp out with a window unit, it’s worth it. The issue is keeping it fueled but as too many are experiencing sleeping in the heat is awful. A 7500 saved me in Ike and 4 days during Harvey. we have power at our house but have others staying with us who do not. This city feels like a powder keg right now
I have a generator. Yes, I do! I have a generator. How about you? I've never had to use my generator. No, I haven't. I've never had to use my generator. How about you? Green eggs and ham I eat with spam. Green eggs and ham I eat with yams. I will not use my generator to cook green eggs and ham. I will not use my generator to heat my green eggs and ham. I eat my green eggs and ham raw. I eat my green eggs and ham with a saw.
My Firman $700 tri-fuel generator (6500 starting watts, 5500 running watts on NG) power the whole house, including 3T HVAC on natural gas. If you can do it yourself, you could spend as little as $1.5 for this level of backup. If you hire out everything, it's at least ~$2.5k Larger generator gives you more headroom and you don't have to power manage as much (eg don't run microwave and central AC at the same time). Roughly Parts Portable Generator: $500-$3k 50A Inlet: $40-100 Interlock: $25-75 Power cable from generator to inlet: $30-300 (depending on length and amp) Gas hose: $30-1000 (depending on length, size, and quality) AC Soft start: $300-500 (not always necessary for smaller AC, but this is what help generator power central AC, even up to 6T. Larger Ton will also require larger generator) Labors Electrician: $400-$1k (inlet, interlock, ac soft start installation // if you have a special panel, good luck - will exceed $1k) Plumber Natural gas hookup: $400-$2k (long run = higher cost) NG Fuel cost $5-20 per day depending on load (for a typical home)
I built a small nuclear reactor in my backyard in case the lights go out in central Texas. Hope I never have to crank that baby up.
OP is right, unfortunately. Between the hurricanes, freezes, and heat waves, Houston is pretty much having bi-annual day to week-long power outages. It's like either move, or buy a really good generator / a solar + battery system. My dads electricity is still out, my wife's grandparents just got there's back on yesterday. The highs have been in the 90s. **** isn't acceptable.
