"Rob Patrick" wrote in message
...
I've had a pretty rough year for electricity at my house. Seems like
after every rain shower, someting elecronic stopped working. In
addition, about once a month, power flicks off just long enought to
set every piece of gear with a clock a-blinking. After hurricane
Isabel knocked out my power for 15 hours, I've decided to finally look
for a whole-house backup system.

To take care of the momentary outages and brownouts, a huge
battery-type UPS that was connected to the whole house would be ideal
(it seems.) There is actually a company (Banner Electric -
www.bannerbackup.com) that makes such a system and actually markets it
as replacements to generators - but I'm not sure exactly how long they
would keep a house running (even with loads minimized) plus there is
reference to a system costing $20,000 on their web site (ouch...)

I'd like to get the thoughts of anyone out there about the wisdom of
connecting the whole house to a big UPS. It seems to me like the ideal
system would have an automatic generator for extended outages but a
battery to handle short outages and to keep power flowing while the
generator started.

My suggestion for most homeowners is a partial cutover panel. Only certain
circuits are brought over. DIY it could be as low as $1000 including the
right sized generator. Professional install should not take it over
$1600-$2000. Its fairly easy to retrofit. With that you end up with a
portable gas generator. The local wire jocks have been installing this one
http://www.connecticut-electric.com/switch.asp And
http://www.finitesite.com/transferswitch/ gives you some idea of prices of
it and others. Home Depot/Lowes also carries them. The meters are a very
useful feature. I installed the 7500 model in my home

Next step up is a whole house cutover. That is done at the mains level. A
bit more expensive and installation really should be done by a pro.
Generator cost is now much higher or you really have to watch consumption.
You be surprised how much devices you forget about can draw (think about the
old freezer in the basement when it starts up). There are some nice units
in this market designed for permanent outdoor installation. Fuel source is
also a consideration. People who I know who have these tend to have an
autostart in case of a power failure with critical hardware on dedicated UPS
boxes. Costs are really elastic based on type of generator used. This
would tend to make more sense in an more remote areas where power outages
are more common and more prolonged, or is there are some sort of critical
systems in the home (oxygen generators come to mind).

When I finally retire, I may go with the latter kind of system. Either that
or an electric start generator. I've pulled way too many starter cords
today.