It’s been a while since I shared with y’all about the quote we got for a whole house generator. We wanted to go with the Generac brand, and the quote (including the cost of the generator, the installation, and a couple of electrical issues that would need to be brought up to code for the installation to pass inspection) came to just over $21,000.
Of course, we weren’t thrilled with that price, but we were going to make it work if that was the best option. So we were going to take time to mull it over and make sure that it was really the right decision.
But then, just a couple of weeks after we got that quote, Hurrican Beryl hit Houston. I was checking in regularly with my friend who lives in a suburb of Houston to make sure that she and her family were staying safe. They were fine, but they were left without electricity for a few days. Prior to that, my friend had told her husband that she absolutely wanted a whole house standby generator. There was no question about it, and she was willing to pay any price for it. She didn’t care how much it cost just as long as she as their family of four, including two teenage boys, wouldn’t be left without electricity for days on end.
Then Beryl hit, and they were left without electricity. But do you know who else was left without electricity? About half of the people in their subdivision who had whole house standby generators. She was shocked, and so was I when she told me about it. They live in a very nice subdivision in a Houston suburb. These are people who paid the thousands of dollars to have the whole house standby generator installed, and who have the annual maintenance plan to make sure the generator is ready in case of emergency. And then when they actually needed them in the aftermath of a hurricane, half of them were left with malfunctioning generators and no electricity.
Ever since then, she and I (and her husband) have been coming up with new plans, exchanging ideas, and sharing various products that we might find useful if the need arises again in the future. Here’s the plan that Matt and I have decided on instead of a whole house standby generator.
First up, we bought a Jackery. A Jackery is a solar-powered generator, and the company has all different sizes for various purposes. They have everything from big whole house generators to small portable generators that you can take camping. After doing a lot of comparing, we ended up selecting the Jackery Solar Generator 2000 Plus. We purchased it during Amazong Prime days, and it was 50% off, even though we didn’t purchase it on Amazon. We purchased it through the Jackery website. Here’s what it looks like…
We selected this one because it’s the second largest one they have, and they’re expandable, meaning that if we find we need more, longer-lasting power, we can add more stackable battery packs to it. This one came with two of these solar chargers. You can see how huge it is compared to the music room settee.
I also really like that a Jackery can be charging while it’s being used, just as long as the power coming in is greater than the power going out. And the display on the front of the generator keeps track of that so you can see exactly what’s coming in and going out.
I wanted this because I like the idea of having a generator that can be safely used inside the house. It doesn’t produce any kind of exhaust, so it doesn’t have to stay outside. So this is a good backup to have.
I searched and researched generators for days before deciding on this one. The factors that pushed me towards this one were (1) the customer ratings (a 4.8 star rating out of 2779 customer reviews), and (2) that it’s a tri-fuel generator. For now, we will keep gasoline on hand in case we need it. But in the very near future (as in, hopefully this month, but definitely before this winter), we are going to have a plumber come out and install a natural gas hookup line so that we can use that to power the generator if and when we need it.
I feel relieved to have made this decision. I think we’ll have what we’ll need, and it didn’t cost anywhere near $21,000. That main thing is that in an emergency, we need to be able to heat or cool (depending on the time of year) one room in our house so that Matt can be comfortable. As long as we can close the bedroom door and have a portable air condition or portable space heater keeping that one room comfortable for him, as well as some power for a lamp or two, and maybe a laptop computer, and our refrigerator, we can last for days.
I am still considering purchasing this small Honda generator just to have a small backup generator on hand.
My Houston friend said that her sister (who also had no electricity because of the hurricane) used this Honda generator to power a portable air conditioner, and it worked great. She was especially impressed with it because it’s very quiet compared to the big noisy gas-powered generators. So that’s still on my list to purchase. But for now, I at least have the peace of mind knowing that we can get through a few days without electricity with what we have. There won’t be any more frantic scrambling to get Matt to my mom’s house or somewhere else before the extreme heat (or cold) starts to affect him.
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.