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MN Renovator · 01-05-12, 08:51 PM

I was thinking an appropriately sized gas generator for the event of power outages. The largest load would be the water heater at 5kw since the heat pump would use less. I could go with a heat pump water heater instead but I'm not seeing it worth it unless the electrics have terrible insulation. The Honda inverters now go up to 5500 watts rated and run for 14 hours at 1/4 load off of a 4.5 gallon tank so I should be okay if I carry a decent amount of gas on hand. It might not be cheap or as ideal as using propane for water heating, clothes drying, or the stove but it eliminates the need for another fuel source, and propane is quite expensive to where I'd almost rather use a gasoline backup for the electric.

01-05-12, 08:51 PM	#13
MN Renovator Less usage=Cheaper bills Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 939 Thanks: 41 Thanked 116 Times in 90 Posts	I was thinking an appropriately sized gas generator for the event of power outages. The largest load would be the water heater at 5kw since the heat pump would use less. I could go with a heat pump water heater instead but I'm not seeing it worth it unless the electrics have terrible insulation. The Honda inverters now go up to 5500 watts rated and run for 14 hours at 1/4 load off of a 4.5 gallon tank so I should be okay if I carry a decent amount of gas on hand. It might not be cheap or as ideal as using propane for water heating, clothes drying, or the stove but it eliminates the need for another fuel source, and propane is quite expensive to where I'd almost rather use a gasoline backup for the electric.