Generator Backup For Real Resilience

Many people recognize the value of generator backup. Quite a few have whole-house generators or small portable units that can power a few appliances during an emergency. That’s all good. But in most cases, these setups are designed for short-term outages, not extended ones. Whole-house generators can often run for a week or two before fuel runs out. Smaller generators may run for only a few days unless they’re connected to a larger, fixed propane tank instead of small portable cylinders. These run times are suboptimal. In the vast majority of applications, homeowners waste precious fuel running large generators that are not being fully utilized at any given moment. On top of that, most backup plans are intended to supply power for days, not months.

To get real resiliency, you need to rethink your appliances and how you size, fuel, and use your generators.

Key Strategies for Maximizing Generator Run Time

To extend your generator’s usefulness and increase overall resiliency, several generator-related issues should be addressed:

• Swap BTU-heavy electric appliances to propane. Wherever possible, replace high-consumption electric appliances (refrigerator, range, freezer, hot water tank, dryer) with propane units. We do this, and we heat with wood.

• Use wood heat in cold climates. In colder regions, even North Carolina, a wood stove is strongly recommended. If your generator has to power electric heat, it will burn through fuel very quickly. We keep about six cords of wood on hand most of the time to heat our 1,800-square-foot house.

• Capture excess power with a battery bank. Any power your generator produces that is not actively being used by loads should be captured by a battery bank. This can be done with an inverter/charger or a plug-in charge controller, depending on your setup.

• Size the generator for fuel efficiency, not “normal life.” Generators should be sized to maximize fuel efficiency and runtime, not to keep the entire house running as if nothing happened. The exception is when you’ve already reduced big electric loads by converting them to propane or natural gas.

• Maintain a substantial propane reserve. A 1,000-gallon propane tank should ideally be kept at 50% or higher at all times if long-term resilience is a goal.

• Stock maintenance parts for a year. Keep backup filters, oil, plugs, and fuses on hand so you can run and service your generator for up to a year without outside support.

• Have a secondary multi-fuel generator. A backup generator that can run on gas and propane (or natural gas) provides flexibility if one fuel source becomes scarce.

• Store and protect your generators. When not in use, generators should be stored properly and, ideally, shielded with an EMP shroud or kept in a location that provides some protection.

• Install a proper grid disconnect. A transfer switch or disconnect must be installed between the generator and the grid to prevent back-feeding. By law, this typically has to be installed by a qualified electrician. In some cases, a manual disconnect solution can be set up by someone with moderate skills, using good instructions and guidance.

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Generator Size and Fuel Use

To get the most mileage out of a 1,000-gallon propane tank, your generator should be 10 kW or less. Most whole-house generators are 12 kW to 20 kW, which is overkill for long-term, fuel-conscious operation. You can go with a smaller 10KW generator or smaller if you swap out the big electric loads (heating, refrigeration, hot water, dryers) for propane. Natural gas works too, but that puts you at the mercy and functionality of the gas utility. You should not plan on cooling the entire house with a generator; there are other, lower-energy ways to stay cool. The idea is to batch your high-intensity power uses into short, scheduled windows. For example, you might:

• Run the generator for about an hour in the morning three times a week.

• During that time, do laundry, take showers (if you need electric pumps or fans), and run the well pump to fill water containers or a pressure tank.

Used this way, a modestly sized generator might use around 2.5 gallons of propane per day of operation. If you have a propane refrigerator/freezer and other propane appliances, you may get by on roughly 15–20 gallons of propane per week. That can give you about 6–9 months of meaningful functionality from a 1,000-gallon tank kept in the higher range of capacity. If you add solar power into the mix, that period can be stretched to a year or more.

120 vs. 240 Volts and Well Pumps

If you have a well with a 240-volt pump, you will need a 120/240-volt generator to run it. If you do not need to power a 240-volt well pump you may be just fine with a 120-volt generator. This may offer budget friendlier options.

A Note on Popular Whole-House Systems

I am not a fan of the typical “set it and forget it” backup generator service most homeowners opt for. Generac generators are not the best and the utility company has control over them, requiring monthly fees just to check the generator from time to time.

While it is more work to protect, maintain, and operate your own generator system, that control is exactly what you need if you want to extend your functionality in a serious, extended emergency. The goal is not just to get through a weekend or week of outage, but to maintain a livable level of comfort and capability for months if necessary.