I am having a survey done in about 3 weeks for a whole house backup generator. The initial estimate was that I would need a 27 kw natural gas generator, but I suspect it might be a little on the small side. The 32 kw generator wasn't materially more expensive and I may go that route. One of the significant differences is that the 27 kw natural gas generator is naturally aspirated where the 32 kw natural gas generator is the same engine, but turbocharged.

I have no idea the reliability for these types of engines in a emergency generator, but was hoping someone here had some experience. Go normally aspirated if it is just enough or up for the extra with the turbo charged unit?

I have a 24 Kw natural gas Generac whole house backup. I don't think you need to power every single circuit in your home but if you want to, I suspect the 32 Kw will do the job. You may want to see what the wiring price difference between the 2 sizes is.

This was a flyer that I picked up from our local Costco and called them. The 27 kw was quoted at $21,000 installed and the 32 kw was $23,000 installed, but this is before the survey. It was an estimate, but wasn't materially different for me if it was slightly higher or lower once they look at it.

I think you can go to the generac website and fill out a form that will assist in telling you how much Kw you need, based on your house.

I did that to get an idea before they called me and it came in at something around 49 kw which is why I was surprised by the 27 kw they estimated on the phone. Something is off somewhere and it will be more clear once they do the onsite survey.

I just purchased a 22kw generator, will run 30x30 barn with 10 cows and my whole house. It is propane, the installer is my do it all maintenance man at my company, 10,750, before tank and gas, should be under 14,000 total with a full tank. Tank is supposed to run for 3 days, wife milks a couple cows, and has 15 total, all show/ ffa animals that my daughter's show. Home is 2000 square feet with a finished basement(2700) total. Hope this helps. My owner had one size smaller installed 4 years ago and has never had issue.

is the 1/4 mile time substantially faster w/ the turbo-charged unit? if not, I'd go with the naturally aspirated unit to save $ on potential maintenance costs.

Dont know much about em, but dad just bought one and had the guy from a neighboring camp install the electrical. I know its propane and will run everything in the double wide. Said he put out $7k for everything. We already had propane there.

That does help and makes me question their estimate. I see you are in PA which wouldn't be as much need for air conditioning as I have most likely. I am 5,400 sq ft under air with two 5 ton units and a 3 ton for the house. I have a 30 x 40 shop/RV building with a 4 ton mini split (works amazing in our heat), swimming pool, 3 full size refrigerators, gas heat, electric stove/ovens, and various other electrical appliances like wifi, whole house security, etc...

Don't know about that, but the Generac site has the split between normally aspirated to turbocharged at the 27/32 break. All of them from 32 up were turbocharged that I saw.

All the A/C units are what's driving the high power requirements. Most whole house backup gens are in the 22-24K range. For that difference in price I'd go for the 32K unit, it's always better to have more than too little. For some reason people start quivering when you mention turbochargers, there seems to be an impression that they're fragile. They're not, I've had multiple turbocharged vehicles with many hundreds of thousands of miles between them and have NEVER had a problem out of a turbocharger. The turbocharger wouldn't concern me one bit.

I had a 36 Kw Quiet Source single phase installed at our house in Colorado. In 13 years it has run less than 60 hours, most of it during the monthly test. One of my frieinds in VT has Generac, not sure which model or size, that ran 24/7 for nearly a month when their power was out after Hurricane Irene back in 2011. Natural gas is a lot less expensive than propane. Make sure that you have a good dealer to do the installation and maintenance. The dealer who we have in Colorado did a good job with the installation, but the annual maintenance has been irregular and if there was another dealer in the area I'd give them a try.

All, but one of my vehicles have turbos. The RV, two Rams, and my wife's X5 are diesels without any issues. My Genesis has twin turbos and no issues. Ironically, my two drag race cars are normally aspirated. I agree with you and have experience with turbos in these applications, but not for something that runs on natural gas and rarely (hopefully). I would suspect you are correct that it isn't an issue, but I wanted to ask others experiences.

The location for it is ideal because my natural gas line is in on that side of my shop was as does the main electrical power.

I think that most folks think they need something big enough to light up everything that runs on electricity at the same time.

If one uses their head both will work.

Go on the Generac website and search for their certified installers. You end up buying the generator from Generac itself and get a 7 year warranty not the normal 5, and only are paying for certified install. Plus , for me, it saved $7000-$10,000 less than the cost of the other estimates we got.

What plainsman456 said - no need to overbuy

27 KW is plenty big for most homes. Had one installed on a 10,000 sf house last year and it powers the bulk of what’s important. But I did have a client request a 32 KW for a 5,000 sf house I built for him… it powers nearly everything. For $2,000 I’d say go bigger! And for anyone outside of the lowlands reading this, a generator loses 3% output for every 600’ of elevation gain so there is that to consider… almost everything I build is above 4,800’.

While I surely agree that more is better than less, i highly doubt that a 32K or even a 24K is need in most houses. Unless the house is more than 5000 sq ft with very high demand AC or other specific high demand item.

I'd have 2 different Generac contractors survey mine & quote.

I have a 2400 sq ft house, AC, 2-electric ovens w/gas burners, a well pump & a sump pump, 2 fridges & a freezer & an electric dryer & both sized it at 16KW.

I run a 10K portable now, wired in via a transfer switch & it will run the entire house just fine under normal conditions.................probably won't with the ovens, the AC & the well pump all running at the same time but the 16KW surely will.

MM

Brad - is the 3% output loss also true with a turbo charged engine (i.e. ours is a 24 kW turbo diesel) or just a normally aspirated engine?

All that KW ...u guys are out of control....You don't need all that power what are u doing ..powering the neighborhood.....come on .?..

Have a 16kW Generac natural gas on a 3200 sq ft home. A 3 ton and a 4 ton central AC units, 2 refrigerators, a freezer, a 2100 sq ft detached garage............

The generator runs everything with only one hitch needing addressed. In the summer if the power went out with both AC units running, the generator bogged attempting to roll them both back on while they were still fully up on compression. Internal timers on the two thermostats to space the startup out by a couple minutes from one unit to the other solved that.

Just a whisker over $4000 with the 200A ATS

We freakin' LOVE our Generac !!!

Was in you shoes almost a year ago. Generact gave me a quote of 8800 for a 22kw and kohler gave me a quote of 12k for a 20kw.

Did some research a 20kw will run everything in my 2100sq foot home and my 32x48’ garage.

Did more research. I bought a new 20kw kohler for 6200.00, built my own pad for 150.00, bought a 500 gal propane tank for 1500.00, and kohler requires one of their techs do the electrical install. Required for the 2000hr and 7 year warntee. That cost me 1k.
Don’t think it could be done for any less.

We live remote, our power was off 9 times last year, longest it was off was 4 days. Wife said that is enough. All is good now.

You don’t have to spend a fortune, and I’m pretty sure you do not need a generator over 22kw.

We went with kohler due to them building a better unit.

who told you kohler built a better unit.....kohler rep?....bob

Running three tanning beds....

Being where you are I’ll off you some valuable advice for whatever unit you end up with. Cover every nook, crook, crack, and cranny of it with mouse proofing wool. Then go over every louvre on the hoods with fine screen mesh to keep the dirt daubers out.
Generac units have plant based wiring insulation and the mice will destroy the harness if they’re allowed to get in.

Also check the fit of the timing cover on the engine and silicone any openings. I have had several that needed to be torn down after dirt daubers got in the timing cover and built a nest on the timing belt. When the unit starts it will jump time as the dirt nest is pulled between the belt and the cam pulley. The less expensive units with the Cherry engine will bend a valve when it happens.

Hahaha!

Valuable indeed!

Logger, you've got me on that one. Not sure as I've only ever dealt with NG and LP units for clients.

I know nothing about their back up generator's, but the portables they "used" to make were trash. I cringe when i see one of their big units like this based on the junk they used to sell.

Hell, we get by on an 8K portable dual fuel. We just don't run things like the oven (can use the gas grill if we needed to) or AC (we only turn it on a few times a year). Our hot water, stove, heat, and dryer are all propane.

A little over a year ago I. had the 32 kw installed. Went for the turbo since I live at 5370 feet above sea level. Very glad for the upgrade. Nevada Energy is starting to follow the PG&E doctrine and is threatening to kill the power in my area during red flag days.

I'm very happy with mine and at 130 amps output it'll do for anything at my 3000 sf house and three car garage. The 2.4 liter Mitsubishi engine with turbo and after cooler are super quiet and way quieter than my folks 22 kw air cooled unit.

The same motor turbo unit will run up to 60 kw generators but at some level which I don't recall they bump the rpms to 3200 opposed to 1600 rpm that the 32 kw runs. One outlier is the 48 kw which runs a 5.4 liter V-8 naturally aspirated.

27Kw is roughly 100A at 240v and 200A at 120v. It's pretty simple math.

No sir, hours and hours of research,

I had the survey for my 200A service that powers my home and pole barn and after working the numbers recommended a Generac 24kw natural gas unit installed for just under $10k, they included 7 years warranty and 0% financing.

The only issue is the wait time which is 8 months,,,,

How long ago was this? There seems to be a huge jump in price between the 24 kw and the 27 kw from what I am seeing online between the Guardian and Protector series.

OMG that price sounds high as hell.We had a generac 17kw (LP) installed 12 years for a grand total $4650.Have prices gone up that high that nuts?I am a retired electric lineman and 27-32 kw is a lot of power.What are trying to do run 2 city blocks of houses?

There is a big jump in price from the Guardian and Protector series. It looks like the Protector series starts at 27 kw and higher. I see some think that is way too much generator, but I listed the electrical needs and it almost appears on the edge. I am running 17 tons of air conditioning at peak times along with 3 full size refrigerators, electric stove/oven and a swimming pool. Those are just the big items.

I have run 6 kw and 8 kw generators in two different RVs. The 6 kw would barely run the two air conditioners and would shed one if I tried to use the microwave. The 8 kw generator ran both air conditioners and microwave ok along with some other small appliances like an air fryer or hair dryer at the same time, but you couldn't go much beyond that without tripping the main breaker.

I don't want to be relegated to picking and choosing what I can run or not run as far as air conditioning, cooking, and normal household functions. I won't run my welder while I am on backup power, but in the heat of the summer I don't see the need to leave my household short if I can get the right backup generator. It would be nice to have things as uninterrupted as possible plus things like garage doors, security system, wifi, and other things function as intended. Otherwise I don't see the point in having a backup if it cannot truly backup what I have.

You must have one HUGE ass house.I would go with 27kv plus.

House is 5,400 sq ft under air with two 5 ton units and a 3 ton unit. My shop is 1,200 sq ft and 20' ceilings with a 4 ton unit. The house and shop are very well insulated and the units run when needed, but they all 4 can be running at the same time. Highest electrical and water bill I have is about $700 for maybe August and September, but I generally average about $450/mo including electricity/gas/water/sewage/garbage. I sit on just under an acre so my water bill can hurt sometimes.

I was closer than I thought with my original calculation of approximately 49 kw. They came early and did a site survey. They recommended a 48 kw generator to cover my house and shop.

49kw???? I would get a second opinion and probably a third.

I am running a 24kw Kohler and I have four AHUs, three refrigerators and equal sq/ft. I find it perplexing that you would need twice the capacity as a 24kw unit. Unless of course you're running a manufacturing plant in your shop.

When you say AHU do you mean air handling unit and not a regular air conditioner? I am running 17 tons of air conditioning and that may be the primary difference between our needs.

I will get a second and probably third opinion, I ran their site calculator and came up with the 49 kw. That was my rough unprofessional calculation. The one that should know did the same estimate and came up with 48 kw.

The ironic part is if that is true then the 48 kw is normally aspirated which was going back to part of my original question. It seems to be the only one in the bigger generators that is NA. That may be the cut off point for the next bigger engine.

24kw is the same as having a 200 amp main in you house. Use this formula to help determine the size kw generator you may need/use.

amps x 120 volts = watts

200 x 120 = 24,000 watts or 24kw.

Yeah, unless there's an electricity draw we don't know about... 49kw is a LOT of generator!

I have a 27kw PTO generator that will run the whole ranch. Both houses, shop, water well, 4 refrigerator/freezers, and a/c or heat on the houses.

There's 200 amp service at the power pole.

Sounds like they could be motivated to over-sell you, Bob.

200 amps x 220 volts = 48 kw. Right? The vast majority of the power usage at my house is 220 volts.

Not sure that they are trying to oversell me because the price difference between the 27 kw unit and the 48 kw unit was only $5,000 approximately.

I am dazzled reading through this thread. When we lived up north, I had my service set up so I could isolate off the grid and power up the house with my 8000 watt Miller welder during outages. I thought I was in high cotton. Of course, our outages generally happened in the winter when we were primarily wood heating and even in the summer we didn't really need AC. Also, we cooked and heated water with gas. We could keep everything we needed going and the lights didn't dim when the water pump came on so I was living large.

You may need it...

My electrician said it's possible that I may have to run the central heat in both houses fine, but may have to start them at different times so they don't both hit the power source with start-up at the same time.

Was talking to a friend today and he said Generac priced a unit for him at $35-38k...

I think I paid $3600 for the PTO generator. (Tractor not included) Most of the cost of a big generator is the engine to run it. Already had the tractor, so that was cheaper for us.

Longbob - I am feeding 12 tons of cooling.

Two things to consider in addition to the acquisition cost is panel upgrades, auto cutover switches, and they like to calculate installation cost based on sizing. It takes them just as much time to install a 12kw as a 24kw, but the typical install cost is twice as much for a 24kw.

I had a contractor pour the slab, I purchased the Kohler from the local dealer and had my electrician do the hookup. The dealer came back to "test" the system. But I saved $3,500 on the turnkey price. It's a little bit of a racket...

Geez! How big of a generator was he being quoted? Was that installed? The cost of the generator was about $2,000 below the list price that I see online and the install was pretty pricey. The total with tax, running all the gas lines, concrete pad, switches, etc…..was $28,800. The 27 kw was $23,700 after they viewed the site. They originally said it would be $21,000 ($22,732.50 with tax) for the 27 kw, but that wasn’t a couple of nuances.

Look in your breaker panel and see what size main breaker you have. You have to remember that at 220/240, you only use 1/2 the amps you do at 110/120.

You also have to remember that 220/240 amp breaker is pulling 110/120 off each leg. So the formula is still correct when figured at 110/120. Your calculation is incorrect.

You can see from the post above the cost difference between the 48 kw installed and the 27 kw installed. You are right that there isn’t much difference between the cost of installation. The 48 is a bigger unit so there is a bit of a bigger slab, but that isn’t that expensive. It was somewhat due to the location to put it that will require a little extra location issues. Not much, but that did factor into any size I would have gotten.

There really isn’t a material amount of difference in overall cost and basically doubling the capacity.

We've had a 22k Generac for over 7 years. It has worked great every time we needed it. We had to get the gas company install a higher flow meter. The installer told me generators need volume and some places need a larger diameter line.

I am out of town at the moment, but I will look at the breaker panel. I do know this. I was trying to add another garage/apartment/mother in laws building right off my driveway. It had been planned since we built the house 20 plus years ago. The electrician I had been using for years told me that I could not add anything with my current panel because it is at the edge of capacity. He said it would require me to upgrade the entire panel to a 400 amp service. I think the cost on that alone was $5,000 installed.

If whatever size main breaker you have in your house is not giving you any trouble, use the formula and figure what size kw generator that will equal to. and the same size kw generator will not give you any problems.

If you want bigger, that's your choice.

In case you missed it, this is wrong. 220 single phase gets 110 from each leg.

I am not sure what you mean about it not giving me any trouble? Can you be more specific? The only trouble I guess I am having is that I cannot add anything to my house currently without upgrading from a 200 amp service to a 400 amp service. Maybe that is the only trouble I am having.

Also, while you are at it, make sure you have surge protection on every panel. It will save your large appliances and they are cheap as chips to install - If you have room on your panel that is...

You are right and I had the industrial style surge protectors added to each panel. I have three of them. I also have lightning rods installed on the house last year. We had three really nice houses burn to the ground very close to me from lightning strikes.

Ok, what I meant is that you are not having problems with tripping breakers. If you turn on the stove or ac or crank up the welding machine, and you trip a breaker. If this is happening, you need to upgrade to a bigger main breaker in your home. You stated that you were maxed out on a 200 amp main. Who told you or how did you/they come to this conclusion? Getting a bigger generator will let you run more, but if you haven't got the circuits, you're not going to run more than is already there. And, when the generator is not running, you will be back on the current system.

Thanks for the clarification. Yes, I will trip a breaker every now and then if I am using my welder and my air compressor kicks on especially in the heat of the summer. From a post above I mentioned that I wanted to add another garage apartment and my current electrician told me that it wasn’t possible to add to my current panel. There wasn’t enough capacity since it would also be air conditioned and electric stove/oven/water heater. The next step up would be a 400 amp panel which is the next step that my local utility will allow.

Just curious. Are you an electrician? I am not and don’t claim to be. What perplexes me is that are you saying that it is pointless to have any generator above 24 kw if I have a 200 amp panel? If so, why would they recommend a 48 kw generator if it is twice the electrical capacity of my panel? Wouldn’t the other 24 kw be sitting unused?

Longbob, Oldman03 is spot on with his info and advice !

Yeah, that was installed with automatic switches and such.

Far too many people who think they are experts on this thread and no one listening to the one or two people who actually know what they are talking about- like almost all threads on electrical installations on this site....

Yes, 48 KW is a lot of power, but if you can afford it and you want to be able to run everything you run every day of the year, then maybe you will need it. Most people can get through a few days of power outages fine by rationing power and their lifestyle isn't overly affected. Even if you have longer outages in the week or two week duration you can easily get by with half your normal power requirement if you can live with being a bit uncomfortable or simply cutting off the unneeded electrical devices when the generator is running. You just have to decide what is a "must have" during a power outage and what isn't ... I used to go through this all the time with customers and I think the biggest stand by generator I ever put in was a 24 KW on a very large home . I never had anyone complain about their generator or issues during any outages.... you would be surprised how much you can cut out if you need to....

One way to actually determine what you need is to have an electrical contractor or your utillity put a recording meter on your service incoming and let it run for a few days to a week to tell you exactly how much power you are actually pulling at peak hours... having a 200 or 225 Amp service doesn't tell you anything about how much power you are actually using.

Yes, your installation costs are going to go up substantially if going from a 24 KW unit to a 48KW unit. The ATS is going to be bigger (and much more expensive), the wire and installation materials will be higher, the space you need for the equipment will be bigger, and the connections to your existing panel will take more time- probably involving installing a second panel to separate the circuits on the generator and which stay on the unloaded side- or simply a transfer switch on the main panel so you can run dual feeds to your incoming service... depending on which route you go...

Another thing I have found is many times the recommended "installer" from places like Costco, Home Depot, etc... are substantially more expensive than having your neighborhood electrician come out and give you a price.... but neither of them is going to be cheap these days...

I didn’t have a 24 kw generator quote. The smallest I had was a 27 kw before the survey and there was only about $5,000 difference between it and the 48 kw. There is a big difference in price between the 24 kw Guardian series and the 27 kw Protector series. That is the point they change to a higher unit. I would be pizzed if I tried to cut corners for that small of a difference in price and it couldn’t run what I intended.

But I am still curious at the comment from Oldman about my panel and wattage calculation. I am sure he will chime in. I looked up a few things after asking him about it and came across this.

https://homeinspectioninsider.com/how-many-watts-can-a-200-amp-house-handle/

Oldman03, you should stop replying to this thread about now... first off, you calculations make no sense. Yes, 200 A x 120V comes to 24KW- pretty easy math for a high school electrical student. But I guess you haven't figured out that only works if you are only using one buss in the panel at 120V.... but there are two busses in the panel, and the generator, and the utility supply because we use 240V in residential settings for an awful lot of loads, so you have to figure out the electrical supply by 200 A x 240 V = 48KW...... and on top of that, no one in the trade does a home electrical calculation by what the main breaker size is...

As usual, the OP would be wise to get some references for good electrical contractors in the area and get your info from them.... it will be a lot more accurate than getting advice on this site...

I will get another local estimate if not two. My original question was about the normally aspirated vs. turbo charged natural gas generators and if anyone had any experience with long term reliability of one vs. another. The thread careened off into the part that there was no way I needed a generator of that size that I was calculating and ended up being quoted.

I do get the value of getting local expert advice which I will, but I like to hear from other’s experiences whether they had trouble with one issue or another. It isn’t hard to weed through some of the advice thrown out as not being knowledgeable, but I have gotten a few points that I want to ask the installers that I didn’t consider.

Sheister, you certainly chose an appropriate name. What you know about electricity.... is next to nothing.

Hmmmm, the only reason I get involved in these threads any more is because of guys like you giving information when you would be much better off trying to learn something...

I guess my background as and electrician for 40 years doing residential, commercial, and industrial installations doesn't really qualify in your world? How about 20 years of that as an electrical contractor?

Longbob- sorry your thread went sideways. Wish I could help with the generator issue, but I've never installed a Generac unit. Mostly Kohler, and the Onan units unless I was on a large commercial/industrial projects where we installed very large generators with CAT diesel engines in them....

Bob

I have a 20k Generac for about 10 years fed by Liquid Propane. My house is approx 2250 sq ft and it will run the whole thing without a problem. I buried a 500 gal tank (so the flow never gets interrupted due to extreme cold weather) and have it serviced every 6 months...runs like a clock when called upon.

When looking at whole house generators there are a host of options available in the ATS switch units. I would recommend a few of them as definite to get, and others for convenience- You will need battery charging for the generator starting battery, block heater circuit to keep the engine oil warm enough to start in cold weather, automatic exercising so the generator starts and runs for approximately 30-60 minutes every 30 days, low oil alarm, low fuel alarm if you are running diesel, over temp alarm, quiet enclosure insulation for extra quiet operation, and a few others ... many of these also have alarms you can tie into your security system to report to you remotely- security alarm, fire alarm, fuel overflow alarm (diesel or gas fuel), and a few others if you wish to install them.

Thanks for the info. I have been rolling the dice for years about getting one and found out last year during our cold snap that I am on the same circuit as an emergency hospital and nursing home a few blocks from me. We didn’t get caught up in the rolling blackouts, but we have had blackouts in the past. Both the hospital and nursing home have generators. Only upside is that I may not be subject to the rolling blackouts, but that doesn’t prevent the normal ones when a transformer or something else goes out. The have been happening a lot more often lately.

We just had a 24kw generac installed and despite having 400A at the house, the generator has 100A service. So, a/c units have a delay for start up to account for load.

We had 6 or 7 outages last year, 3 of which lasted 24 hrs plus.

They told me 12 months wait time, but got mine in 6 months.

General is a POS company that doesn’t stand behind there product

They told me July/August timeframe. I will see what the others say.

You are exactly the kind of person who should invest in a generator. Apparently you are doing your due diligence, so just keep doing what you're doing until you feel comfortable by budget, and contractor references and personality...

I"m retired now but I have heard that just like everything else these days, generators take some time to get so be patient...

I would take a hard look at the Cummins RS30 or Kohler 30 RCLA.

1800 RPM liquid cooled engines.

A look in your panel box will reveal your 240 circuits.
Use your previous electric bills for idea of usage
.
You will not have all outlets/circuits in use at once.
Most Generator salesman sell too much generator

Tell your story.My 12 year old 17 kw generac LP whole house gen.has been problem free.

Here in my neighborhood alone (about 120 houses) I can take you to about 15 people who have no use for Generac. We were without power for 19 days after hurricane Ida. Some homeowners are so upset they disconnected them and threw them out with the hurricane debris. My neighbor was getting parts brought in from Alabama twice and still could not keep his generac running. The local rep who opened immediately after the storm could not keep parts in stock and service calls went unanswered. I am sure all manufacturers have their issues and I can not vouch for the maintenance or lack of but the common name brought up when people talk about generator problems in south Louisiana is Generac.

This is the reason I never installed the Generacs when I was a contractor- way too many bad reviews to be able to take on the liability....

I will look at the Koehler and Cummins if they have them available in my area also.

Well Sheister, since you're so good at electrical stuff, why dont you tell Longbob that when you double the voltage ie 110vac to 220vac that you cut the amps in half.... remember the Main is measured in Amps not volts. In case you forgot, look at the nameplate for a motor that can be wired 110v or 220v. And yes you are correct that on a 120-0-120 there is 48,000 watts, but you measure the load in amps.


Now Longbob, You stated that you occasionally tripped a breaker, especially in the summer, and your electrician said that you need a bigger main if you added anything. That sounds right. Buying a bigger generator to cover the extra load will be a wise decision.

Most all electric homes only have a 200 amp main and that usually runs everything without problems. There is no need to buy the extra kw's, if that was the case. However, since you do occasionally trip a breaker and you plan to add on, buying a larger generator makes sense. I was just pointing out that usually there is no need for the extra kw's.

I may be wrong about this, but I don’t think the recent NEC codes allow the installers to put in a smaller generator than what the full house load requirement unless you also install certain load shedding equipment. I don’t particularly like the idea of requiring my air conditioners to be forced to shed when I want them running as normal for example.

Longbob, one way of using a smaller generator is to have a separate panel that energizes when the transfer switch changes. This panel will only power what's wired to it and not all appliances will be wired to it. Maybe the ac wont be wired to it or an electric stove or electric water heater, and maybe all of these. The electrician will work with the homeowner to determine what kind of load the generator can stand and what appliances they want on. These are not 'whole house' generator systems.

I went through this just before the world ran out of toilet paper. Failed to execute. However, either one in the 30kw + class would be very nice. I think Kohler has a slight edge on dB rating at full load. Be sure to look at kw rating specs and be sure it is for NG and not LP.

Yes that would be a partial generator system, but I prefer the whole house generator. The air conditioners are my big draw, then it is the oven, stove top, swimming pool, and clothes dryer. More or less in that order. I can probably kick out the oven, stove top, and clothes dryer, but then my wife would kick me out. We are basically talking about a $5,000 difference in the cost of a whole house generator vs. a partial generator at this point. It may be a different spread with another brand or installer, but I don’t see that it will be a material difference based on the information I have found so far.

Yes I saw the NG are lower wattage rated than the LP. I do want it to be as quiet as possible, but at least the location won’t be right outside our bedroom.

Sorry to be so verbose in this thread. I am stuck in Peru at the moment and bored out of my head. This has been a good distraction and helped me refine the questions I want to ask the installers. The first one called me earlier today to see if he could come by early to do the survey. I wasn’t there to ask any questions and he sent me the bid via email earlier today.

I dont know enough about the different brands to say one way or the other. If I was going to get one, I know I'd want the 'whole house' system. Affording it might be a different story.

A conversation with your gas provider would be worth having before you get too far along. I’m sure they can supply the fuel, but will 30kw + may require a meter swap.

I asked about that with my service provider and they said I have 425 CFH meter which is an upgrade over the normal ones they install which should be plenty. I didn’t get a chance to ask the installer what they thought, but my service provider said they would install a larger one free of charge if necessary.

Oh please stop- now you're just embarrassing yourself.....