I'm getting one of these to cover my house. I often lose my power 2 to 3 times a year. http://www.generac.com/Residential/Guardian/Products/Guardian_Series_17_kW/
I bought a $40 inverter. Plugs in the cigarette lighter in the car. Was enough to power the laptop which has a battery which won't hold a charge at all ,and 3 cell phone chargers. I used the laptop during the day and charged the cell phones overnite without the car running and the car started the next morning no problem. The generator would be nice for the refrigerator though.
At roughly $4000 retail plus the cost of professional instal (1-2k), seem like a bit of overkill for power only going out 2-3 times a year.....but, of course, if money is no object, my post is moot.
I actually got an estimate for a 20kbw one a couple weeks ago and the installation is much more than 1-2k. It closer to 4k and that's with the generator being within 25 feet of the gas meter. A second estimate ran about 5k for the installation. For the serious trader, it's worth it. You get jammed on one trade and it's the cost of the 10k generator plus you'll have power in the house for the family.
If intense heat or bitter cold are an issue where you live, its not necessarily overkill. Plus there is the food issue. Losing an entire fridge and chest freezer worth of food due to a prolonged power outage is a smelly, smelly, inconvenience.
I have two fridge/freezer combos plus one stand alone freezer....yes I have lost plenty of food! My point is a sub $1k portable generator (10k watts) would be adequate in most cases.
Thats very true. We have 2 regular ole gas generators for hurricane season. Enough to run window unit air conditioners, lamps, and save our food. Hurricanes dont sneak up on you, so getting enough fuel to last until re-supply trucks make it in town is no big deal. Both generators were considerably less than $1k. But, if its in your budget, permanently installed nat gas generators are pretty damn awesome. Also, if hurricanes are a threat, we switched over from an electric range to a gas range. Being able to cook fresh hot food without worrying about running low on charcoal during a stressful time like that can really help keep your spirits up.