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#1
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Back Up Generator in New Construction
While building my home, I was recently asked if I wanted to have a
natural gas driven back up power generator installed? Ostensibly to provide back up power in the event of an outage. My first question is whether or not anyone sees value in this. Secondly, does it really matter whether I have it installed at time of building or can I have one installed at a later time. |
#2
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Back Up Generator in New Construction
sprtan wrote: My first question is whether or not anyone sees value in this. Oh yeah. Secondly, does it really matter whether I have it installed at time of building or can I have one installed at a later time. It they allow space for it and have the wiring set up for it you can put the actual generator in later. |
#3
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Back Up Generator in New Construction
"sprtan" writes:
My first question is whether or not anyone sees value in this. You need to decide for yourself whether it would be valuable to you. Look at how much it's going to cost to install it. Look at how stable power is in your area, and whether long power outages are common. Look at what you will be doing in your home that will require power (e.g., will you do important work with computers on a regular basis? will it hurt you to lose an entire freezer full of food as a result of a long outage?). Look at how much power the backup generator will be rated to provide and whether it will provide enough power for what you'll want it for. It is certainly useful to have a backup generator. Whether it is useful enough to warrant the initial expense, space, and maintenance costs is a question you will need to answer for yourself. Secondly, does it really matter whether I have it installed at time of building or can I have one installed at a later time. Yes. It'll be cheaper to install now, assuming that your contractor doesn't shaft you :-). |
#5
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Back Up Generator in New Construction
sprtan wrote:
While building my home, I was recently asked if I wanted to have a natural gas driven back up power generator installed? Ostensibly to provide back up power in the event of an outage. My first question is whether or not anyone sees value in this. Secondly, does it really matter whether I have it installed at time of building or can I have one installed at a later time. If you live in the hurricane belt, you would already know the answer. Personally, I would love to have one. Now is when it is infinitely easier to get a nice installation done. Later, maybe the model your contractor left space for may not be available and you end up with problems you don't need or want. If you're at risk for power outages and can afford it now, do it now. The price of installation is unlikely to drop in the future, nor is your need for electrical power. -- Mortimer Schnerd, RN VE |
#6
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Back Up Generator in New Construction
"sprtan" wrote:
While building my home, I was recently asked if I wanted to have a natural gas driven back up power generator installed? Ostensibly to provide back up power in the event of an outage. My first question is whether or not anyone sees value in this. Well, that really depends on where you are building and how reliable electrical service is there. And how much loss you might incur from food loss. What are the neighbors doing? Secondly, does it really matter whether I have it installed at time of building or can I have one installed at a later time. The savings is the wiring and switching required. They get done when the walls are open and only require one inspection. Do it later and that part is more expensive and require reinspection. If its that common, get all the wiring/plumbing done, but save the purchase of the generator for later. |
#7
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Back Up Generator in New Construction
If you live in the country, ice belt, tornado belt, hurricane belt or
earthquake belt, it's probably worth it. It'll be cheaper to do it during construction than later. Natural gas is probably the worst choice for fuel. In a lot circumstances where electricity goes out, so does natural gas (hurricanes and earthquates are examples). Best is propane if you have a big (100 gal plus) tank; this probably won't be the case unless you live in the country. Propane is best because large amounts can be stored indefinitely without degradation. Second best are gasoline and diesel. Both fuels should have a "preservative" added to them (you can buy it in autoparts stores). But even with a preservative, it's best to use them within a year or two, and for most folks, this means in the car or in yard/ag equipment. If you have a diesel car or tractor, then diesel generator engines have more power per pound and last longer. Diesel engines are harder to start in below zero (F) temperature than gasoline engines. Otherwise, get a generator with a gasoline engine, and you can turnover the fuel in your storage cans in your car or lawnmower. Having your generator and car use the same fuel means you can siphon some fuel out of the car to use in the generator if you are in a prolonged outage as well as giving a way to turnover the fuel in the storage cans before it is too degraded. Stay away from cheap Chinese generators; getting service and parts for most of them is impossible. Finally, test the generator regularly; don't wait for an outage to find out it isn't working. Mike sprtan wrote: While building my home, I was recently asked if I wanted to have a natural gas driven back up power generator installed? Ostensibly to provide back up power in the event of an outage. My first question is whether or not anyone sees value in this. Secondly, does it really matter whether I have it installed at time of building or can I have one installed at a later time. |
#8
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Back Up Generator in New Construction
On Fri, 24 Feb 2006 10:42:16 -0800, newsman wrote:
If you live in the country, ice belt, tornado belt, hurricane belt or earthquake belt, it's probably worth it. It'll be cheaper to do it during construction than later. Natural gas is probably the worst choice for fuel. In a lot circumstances where electricity goes out, so does natural gas (hurricanes and earthquates are examples). This is a HUGE generalization. For a very large portion of the U.S., weather and/or natural events that would knock out the natural gas delivery system simply don't factor in as something to worry about. In all of the ice storms/wind storms/blizzards/floods/etc I've been through, the one constant has been that the natural gas flows when everything else has failed. - Rich |
#9
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Back Up Generator in New Construction
user wrote: On Fri, 24 Feb 2006 10:42:16 -0800, newsman wrote: If you live in the country, ice belt, tornado belt, hurricane belt or earthquake belt, it's probably worth it. It'll be cheaper to do it during construction than later. Natural gas is probably the worst choice for fuel. In a lot circumstances where electricity goes out, so does natural gas (hurricanes and earthquates are examples). This is a HUGE generalization. For a very large portion of the U.S., weather and/or natural events that would knock out the natural gas delivery system simply don't factor in as something to worry about. In all of the ice storms/wind storms/blizzards/floods/etc I've been through, the one constant has been that the natural gas flows when everything else has failed. - Rich I agree. In most parts of the country, natural gas would be the prefered fuel for me. The possible exception would be CA, due to eathquakes, but then relatively few people will choose to have a backup generator there anyhow, as the temps are far more moderate than many areas of the country. Plus most people in CA are using gas for heat, so if the gas goes, so does the heat and having heat is one of the main reasons for a gen to begin with. I |
#10
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Back Up Generator in New Construction
Um ... Katrina, Loma Prieta, Rita, Northridge, Andrew .... If these don't ring a bell, then nevermind. user wrote: On Fri, 24 Feb 2006 10:42:16 -0800, newsman wrote: If you live in the country, ice belt, tornado belt, hurricane belt or earthquake belt, it's probably worth it. It'll be cheaper to do it during construction than later. Natural gas is probably the worst choice for fuel. In a lot circumstances where electricity goes out, so does natural gas (hurricanes and earthquates are examples). This is a HUGE generalization. For a very large portion of the U.S., weather and/or natural events that would knock out the natural gas delivery system simply don't factor in as something to worry about. In all of the ice storms/wind storms/blizzards/floods/etc I've been through, the one constant has been that the natural gas flows when everything else has failed. - Rich |
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