Living in rural northeast Ohio, power outages are something you just have. On top of that, we are at the edge of our power company’s coverage area, so we are in the last group of people to get our power restored.
When we first moved to our home, a couple of our neighbors said we should look into a generator. We decided to wait a year and see how often and long our power would go out, if at all. In one year our power went out 4 times, the shortest being 8 hours in -40(with windchill) degree weather and the longest being 5 days with 110° heat. And let me tell you, being 8 months pregnant, stuck in a dark basement at 78° while the rest of your house is over 100° for 5 days on a makeshift bed with no power is something I don’t want anyone to have to experience.
So after that, we decided we would bite the bullet and get a Generac. After calling around to different companies, we got quotes for up to $15,000 and all had at minimum a 6-month wait.
The installer gave us a wait time of 6 months minimum due to supply shortages and waiting for permits to process through. We signed our contract in January and had an install date set for the first week of July. One Friday in April our installer called and said they had a cancellation the following Monday and asked if we wanted to take that date and we jumped at it. Having the generator in before summer was something we really wanted. So we lucked out into getting it installed 3 months early.
From start to finish the whole thing took about 2.5 hours. They were super quick and efficient in getting everything installed and tested. After everything was done, the office called to get the inspection set up with the county. The following week the county inspector came, checked everything out and we were good to go.
Side note: I asked our inspector how often he was doing them for the general and he said that for the last year, he did at least one and sometimes two every single day, Monday-Friday.
While researching online, it was very difficult to find what pricing would actually be so I’m going to be completely transparent with costs to hopefully help others who are looking for actual information, not just a guess range.
Costco ended up being the best deal in our area. In order to get the Costco deal, you had to pay in full after the installation. They won’t allow you to do it if you are getting any kind of finance through the dealer. We also have a 5-year warranty on parts, labor, and travel.
Costco Deal: Costco gives a 10% shop card plus a $500 shop card for getting your installation done through them. If you are an executive member you also get 2% back on your end-of-the-year total. They also give you a 5-year extended warranty. If you use a Citi credit card you get an additional 2% back on that card.
Our total out-of-pocket cost at Costco came to $12,369.44
What that included: Generator, Cement Pad, Transfer switch and wiring, Labor and 10 year extended warrenty
The breakdown:
2% back from executive membership: $247.40
Shop card: $1237
After our money back our total cost came to $10,886
- Mobile link: Our Generac came with the mobile link app. It shows you all the information on your Generac, including ready status, serial number, maintenance information, how long it’s been running, and any issues you may have with it. It also will automatically send any issues to our dealer and they automatically send someone out to service it which is really nice.
- Testing: It automatically runs for about 15 minutes at a set weekly day and time to make sure everything is in working order and to filter the gas through.
- The time between a power outage and when Generac kicks on: We have had our generator kick on twice. Both times it was relatively warm outside and the power flashed off and was instantly back on with Generac. They did let us know that in the winter when the weather is very cold (below 0°) It could take up to 3 minutes for it to warm up and produce power. We have not had that happen yet but it is something to be aware of.
I would say for us, It was 100% worth the cost. Not having the stress every time severe weather comes in alone has really improved our lives. During the summer, we have alternate ways to stay cool. Our basement, when the power went out in a 110° heatwave for 4 days, didn’t get above 78° while the rest of the house was as hot as it was outside. The winter for us is the big issue. Our main furnace runs off of natural gas. We have backup heat in the form of a propane furnace, but you need the power to run either of them Eventually we would love to get a fireplace installed but with my husband’s job he has to have internet to work from home. So for us getting the Generac was the best solution.
I hope this information helps you to figure out if a whole-house generator is for you. If you are in Northeast Ohio, check out Generator One. They are a great company that did awesome work for us and their customer service has been incredible.