Power Outages - what to do?

As some of you know, and for those that don't, I take care of my folks. I moved in after my Dad's stroke to help him to recover. My mom has early onset dementia and since he was the primary care giver, they needed assistance. Their home is in a place in the country that experiences constant power outages. They have a mobile generator that is for select things in the house to get them by and can be moved out of the garage to the drive; then the cable to the gen trans/power hook up is 30 feet away through a raised flower bed.

This was a fine set up when they were well but I have concerns that I am the only one that can run it or connect it now given their impaiments and the location. That is even given that there is not 3-5 feet of snow or ice on the ground. It is even hard for me sometimes and I am not getting any younger either with my own impairments.

I have looked into a permanent generator, whole house. It is expensive. Because of going to a home show, there is a special: free installation, 5 year warranty, 2 year service plan and surge protector; it is a significant savings. It is still a huge, expensive purchase.

I have said I would pay for it. The one credit card is offering 0% interest for a year and I can have it paid of in 8 mos. They are objecting that it is not needed and too costly. It is costly but I so worry about when I am not home and stuck at work, what will they do, which is:1.nothing and freezing or 2. trying to do it themselves then hurting themselves or 3. was a disaster last time in having to have the generator serviced for not working it correctly or killing it all together.

I have their permission to install it and all that is necessary for it, but they are not happy with objections to the cost. I am not happy about it either but I think it is necessary, will be a huge convenience, and peace of mind for me and I would hope for them too in the long run. They want to stay in this home as long as possible, and this will help them to do that. I understand the objection that they do not know how long they will be here, as we say, life happens but I think it would be good for resale even if we do sell the house.

Am I off base here in my thinking? Any thoughts, for or against going ahead with this? How can I help them or what am I missing?

Thanks in advance for your input.

Just how often do these outages occur and for how long? Is their heat electric? Is their perhaps a subsidy program from the power company?

It sounds a lot like you aren't buying a generator as much as paying for a source of your anxiety to be removed. How much anxiety does this cause you? And paying for anxiety removal is a completely valid reason, just have to run it through a cost benefit analysis just like anything else you spend money on.

Fresia, you know I live out in the boonies. I know what you mean about living in the country and having the power go out. In my case no power also means no water because the pump in the well needs electricity.

Some random thoughts that came to mind reading your post...

Will your parents be able to start the whole house generator? If they can't it might not be worth it.

Do they need electricity to have water? I cringe at the idea of older folks toting water into the house if there's no water, especially in the winter.

Do they need electricity to have heat in the house? No heat in the winter where it freezes could be deadly for older folks.

If you decide to install the generator see if you can get a tax credit for it. I know there are tax credits for energy efficient stuff, maybe the generator would qualify.

Personally, were I in your shoes, I'd probably shell out the money for the generator for the peace of mind it would bring. When my Mom was in failing health I paid for an assisted living facility for her. I could've put a kid through an Ivy League college for what it cost me. On the other hand I had to work and Mom needed someone to look after her. The facility and staff were awesome. For me it was worth the cost to know she was being cared for.

Now, if I may I have a funny power outage story. One night last week I dyed my hair at home. 15 minutes into having the dye on my hair the power went out. That meant no water to rinse the stuff out of my hair. 10 o'clock at night and I'm standing next to the water trough dipping water out with a pitcher to pour over my head. Meanwhile the mosquitoes were doing their best to eat me alive. Ah the joys of country living!

To answer some questions:

-It goes out about every month or a couple times a month. It last anywhere from an hour, a day or two, or in the winter is typically longer 3-5 was average but like last Thanksgiving when we had 3 feet of snow and below freezing temps, it was out 9 days.
-Their heat is primary water base board lower floors or electric base board on the upper floors.
-I don't know about a subsidy but will have to look into that.

-Cost benefit analysis is great idea. I will work this up immediately.

-The type of generators am looking at come on within 60 seconds of the power going out. The folks or I have to do nothing and nothing when the power comes on, it shuts off automatically returning to original source of power.
I was thinking whole house (16kw generator) as opposed to the one that runs select things (11kw) because it is a difference in price of $550. Then for the upper floors there would be lighting (no worry about groping/walking in the dark for flashlights), heat up there to not just the first floor, and an oven, which would not have with the 11kw one for, in the scheme of things, not much difference.
-We are on a well so yes, there is no water for toiletries or drinking without the power.
-Both heating systems that control different parts of the house need power to run.
-It did not occur to me about the tax credit.... will look into that as well.

Great thoughts everyone! I have some work to do. Thank you! Let you know how it goes.

Fresia, given your answers, if you can afford it I'd go for it.

No electricity for days in Florida is inconvenient and unpleasant, but not usually potentially deadly. No power up North in winter could be.

My Mother got a similar whole house generator for my Grandmother's house while she lived there, and also got one for hers. Living in the sticks, the power goes out a lot.

My Mom installed automatic whole house generators. These go on automatically when the power goes out. This was especially important for my Grandmother's house, as she could not go outside and do it all by herself.

The other important feature these units have is a surge protection. If you do not have a surge protection included in the installation the surge from the unit coming on may fry the house electrical system. This happened to my Mom's house before. Thus she made sure to have it installed properly.

Once installed properly they are fantastic things to have. No worries when the big bad storm comes.

Also, now that my Mom is selling my Grandmothers house this unit is an additional feature that helps the house being sold. My Mom is working on the closing of the sale now.

I hope my family's experience helps yours.

Thank you for sharing your and your grandmother's experience.

I double checked, there is a surge protector written in the estimate; I appreciate you mentioning it, so good to know about it. I also appreciate knowing that it can be good for resale.

Wishing her well with her sale and thanks again!!

I did a cost benefit analysis and showed my folks. It was eye opening; thanks Mike_J for the suggestion.

There were things too that they hadn't even considered as well and are more on board; they just would rather I not spend so much money given they don't know how long they will be here. I am ok with that even if if something happens before it is ever used; I would rather be safe especially for the winter. I told them to think of it as an early Christmas and New Year's present, especially since the power usually goes out around then.

I made an appointment today to go over some final questions I have and if it goes well, well, we'll get the ball rolling.

Thank you everyone for your insights, very much appreciated!

Sounds like installation is a really good idea to me.

splitimage

Fresia, you got me interested in a generator for my place. Would you be willing to post some of the information you gathered? If you don't want to post it, would you PM it to me?

Be happy to. I am working doubles the next two days but can this weekend. More to come...

I do hate those long power outages. I am on the end of the line so anything that happens along the way, I get. In 9 years it's only been out for a week in our 2009 ice storm....something this California born & raised person never imagined. I'm thinking wood burning stove since I have woods on my 10 acres & could cook on it. The portable generator I bought so I could plug in my cooking burner & have a few plug in lights is heavy & unmanageable for me though I can roll it close to the front porch & run the cord through that window.

If you can afford the whole house generator....good idea & definitely a selling point for future buyers who will have the same electric problems as you are having.

I primarily looked at Generac home generators. It had the best reputation for reliability and durability, and they have been in business for over 50 years.

Generac Home Generators | Backup power for your home | Generac Power Systems

The specifications and info about the generators themselves are on that website.

You would have to contact them directly for an estimate because a licensed electrician, who does the estimate, determines based on your needs of what all you want to have on it and how many amps of power you need to determine which model of generator is recommended. I went to a local home show to talk to them initially, if you have one I would recommend it because they have specials at them.

*It runs on propane: the generator cannot be within 5 feet of an opening or door or window of the house, and has to be at least 10 feet away from the propane tanks.
*All the generators come on in a pre-programmed amount of time 15 seconds -1500 depending on how soon you want it to come on which was a nice feature for those short term black outs if you don't want it coming on immediately or for the winter, ASAP.
*As mentioned in a previous post, surge protector and transfer panel/switch are necessary and included in estimate, if not ask.
*They will usually include in their estimates the materials & installation of a pad for it: colder climates that will be crushed stone, and warmer climates that will be concrete.
* Service maintenance runs about $150-$175 a year.

We considered 2 options of generator basic needs and whole house:

1. Basic needs for us: well pump, septic pump, heat, fridge and freezer, microwave, some lights on the first floor and few on second floor, plus a couple of electrical outlets in the house but not garage. We could use a 11 kw generator. Some can do a whole house for 11 kw just depends on the house.

2. Whole house for us: included all of the above plus stove, w/d, and lights and outlets on 3 floors: 16 kw. However, If running A/C I was told a minimum of a 16 kw or higher is needed.

* I made sure the outfit was insured and all the electricians working on it were licensed with a master electrician.

I will give you our estimate but it was more expensive because we added two propane tanks (only one was recommended but because we are so hard to get to in the winter, I added an extra one), run 45 feet of gas line (normally you don't have to go so far) and dig the trench for the gas line which was extra: 11 kw-$5400 and 16 kw- $6000. It was not broken down so I don't know what it would be separated out. I'm sorry about that.

If you have other questions, just let me know, will see if I can answer.

This is great info! Thanks!

I love wood stoves but a few things note. I used to chop wood every day - and that was wood that was split and seasoned. It basically takes a year to season wood. It's a lot of work. Some of us absolutely love it (chopping wood to me was incredibly therapeutic) but it's worth giving a great deal of thought to before making the commitment.

Back to the discussion regarding the generator. Knowing more information this sounds like it would be a good idea.