Why John,” you may ask, “is this newsletter late because you decided to center the front page article around Tuesday’s storm?”. Why yes, dear reader. I was prepared to write something relevant to the market or coming summer, but this was a chance to research something fresh in everyone’s minds.
It’s rare that we need a generator, but it would appear that “extreme weather” in Texas is increasing in frequency. The topic of generators is pretty big in options, so rather than giving you an insufficient view of all of things I’ll give you two options.
1) The Essentials – According to Consumer Reports, a 2,000 watt generator is enough to power your fridge, TV(s), 5-10 lights, a computer, charger and security system. There are portable, gas-powered generators. If you’re prepared to chance the elements and make a few concessions, you can live in relative comfort (sans HVAC) for $300-400. You’ll need to get gas every couple of days, but those steaks in the freezer will stay frozen, you’ll have light and TV, and the all-important internet will function.
2) All the Bells & Whistles – It’s Texas. The odds every outage won’t be followed by 70 degrees, and if you’re going to drop some coin on a generator you may as well have something even The Omega Man would envy. If you have natural gas, a 4-ton air conditioner (servicing 2,000 sqft) requires 17,000 watts. Stack on top of that the comforts you are willing to pay to maintain (TVs, internet, most-all of your lights, chargers, computers, stove/oven, everything except probably your dryer) and you’re up to roughly 22,000 watts. A permanent, wired into your electric panel and plumbed into your gas line is going to set you back $5,000-8000 PLUS installation. At this time I’m not sure the cost of the plumbers and electricians fees, but if I was to guess I’d add another $1,500 to that. Now this system is big, roughly the size of a table, but it will also increase the value of your house (not dollar-for-dollar) or you can take it with you when you move.
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