That is basically the bottom line issue - you can get cheap "portable" (in some cases "portable with hernia" :bug: ) generators that will barely do just what you need, but require fairly extensive hookup, configuration, and starting drills that you have to physically be there for; or you can get fancy, EXPEN$IVE, fixed-installation units that "just work" whether someone is there to babysit them or not.
Unfortuneately, there doesn't seem to be any sort of easy "happy medium" approach that falls in between. In theory one could build such a setup, but the costs would probably approach the cost of a pre-install unit, and given how little such a setup actually gets used, there really isn't a payback on the savings in operating costs.
Indeed, I wonder how much REAL difference there is in operating costs... Earlier in the thread, Castiron said the LP whole-house units cost $25-50/day to run. I forget the exact numbers, but it seems most of the mid-size portables (~5KW) talk about a 10-12 hour runtime @50% load, using a 5-10 gallon fuel tank - at $2.25/gallon for gas, that works out to between $1-2/hr, doesn't sound much different... Of course the whole-house unit does sound like it can put out a whole bunch more demand, so you won't have to do as much worrying about load balancing, rationing the lights, etc...
So if the operating costs are the same, the only significant difference is in the costs for the units themselves - the portables seem to average $500-1,000, and the whole-house setups are closer to $3K installed. Is it worth the difference?
IMHO the first question is evaluating the risks - if you are home, the portable solution will do about as well as the fixed one - assuming you can get the fuel for it (if your area looses power, how hard will it be to find a gas station that can pump? MOST stations don't have backup power, so if the juice goes out their gas isn't accessible) but if you aren't home, and you don't have a really clueful neighbor that knows how to do all the setup and runtime drill that your configuration requires, then you are in the same shape you'd be if you didn't have a generator at all. OTOH, with the pre-installed setup, you are pretty much guaranteed that your backup will work, whether you are home or not....
If you think you will be home the cheap alternative will work.
If you spend a lot of time away from home, then your going to be better off with the more expensive unit that doesn't need you to make it work.
The second question would be the "hassle factor" The whole house units "just work" - no pain, no problem, power goes out, generator goes on and takes over everything. The amount of babysitting required is minimal.
A portable unit's hassle factor will depend on the individual setup, but is almost certain to be FAR more difficult. You will need to get the unit to someplace safe to run it - no engines inside! You will need to get it started - probably with a recoil starter. You will need to either tie into your house circuit (don't forget to pull the main!) or run extension cords to all the "vital" appliances, and possibly do breaker resets to disable stuff you don't need/want running... Probably this is something that will take more time, more physical strength, more work, etc. Is it something that the less skilled members of the household are going to be able to do? Once you get going, you will probably need to spend more time babysitting the setup to keep it fueled, etc. So is the hassle factor worth it?
IF one was designing and building a house from scratch, it would probably be possible to do a setup that would give some savings by segregating "vital" and non-vital circuits and then getting a smaller whole-house unit in, or at least making an easier hookup for a portable setup, but this really doesn't change anything else...
In theory, the portable unit has the advantage that one can pick it up and take it someplace else for temporary power - but don't forget that if you do, it is no longer available for use as backup power at home...
Its a debate the GF and I are still having - we can't really justify the cost of a whole-house unit, but aren't sure the lower benefit and added hassles of a portable unit are worth it. We also have the advantage that our power is generally pretty reliable - it seldom goes out, and when it does rarely goes for more than an hour or two, which is only a problem for our sump-pumps. The pumps don't usually kick in for a day or two after a storm, so the power is unlikely to still be out by the time they would really be needed.... So we aren't sure if we need ANYTHING
Gooserider
Gooserider