Back in 2011, the U.S. economy seemed unstable. Rather than wait for the bottom to fall out, I purchased a portable generator. To prepare for possible emergencies, I also filled some large plastic containers with shelf-stable food. I bought a water filter, a hand-powered clothes washer, and a propane range.
Limited Usability
We planned to use the generator for emergency power. It could power a few fans, the refrigerator, and a few laptops. We currently live in a community with a lot of rules. So, we were limited to a small tank of propane to run it.
Amazingly, the economy did not crash. We did not need emergency power for several years. If we had a hurricane or something else happened to the power, the generator would have helped. As it turned out, we didn’t use it until we bought the property for our homestead.
It was small enough to put in the back of our pickup truck. We took it to our property and used it to run power tools and charge battery packs. My husband used it frequently when he built a tool shed on our land.
Our Portable Generator Needs Change
Now, we are building our new house and our generator needs have changed. We have a deep well with a one horsepower motor, and our first generator can’t start it. Home Depot had a sale on generators and we picked up one at a good price, with free shipping, that can power the well.
Multiple Fuels
One nice advantage of the new generator is that it can run on propane, natural gas or gasoline. Although propane and natural gas don’t create as much power as gasoline. With the addition of solar panels and reducing our energy use, this may be the last generator we need.
Our new home is being built to be more energy-efficient. We plan to use appliances that can run on propane or use less electricity. With an energy efficient building, we expect to see our daily power usage go down. There will also be a switch on our main electrical panel. Then, we can use power from other sources, whether a generator or solar.
Future Needs
Our second generator was purchased primarily to handle the well. Nevertheless, it could also be used to run our new house in an emergency. Especially, if we only use it for lights, fans, and the fridge.
Once we get our house built, we will probably re-evaluate our generator needs. There are many different sizes available. Some will even start automatically if grid power goes out. The ones that can power an entire house, including A/C, on propane are a lot more expensive than what we purchased.
Good data. Definitely something to consider.