The Texas Energy Disaster
21st February 2021
I live in Texas and write about climate science and energy, so I get a lot of questions about the recent problems. My wife and I are OK, we have a natural gas powered generator and did not lose power like most people did earlier this week. We also had a broken pipe, but it was outside the house, and I was eventually able to cap it, with the help of a neighbor, after the normal (for me) three trips to the hardware store and two failed attempts.
I am seriously considering installing a gas-powered emergency generator.
February 21st, 2021 at 15:00
A neighbor has a natural gas generator, so does my father. They work pretty great, but they’re not cheap. Keep in mind that backup generators like that have to run at least once a month (some more often) in order to keep the internals from going bad. Count that additional gas use in your cost analysis.
I have a small gasoline generator that I can break out for emergencies, but it won’t come close to powering the entire house. With portables, stick with Japanese or American brands. The Chinese versions are often priced extremely well, but good luck getting it to work or getting it repaired. With a Honda, every piece is part number XXXX and you can order replacements at will. When the Chinese build a machine, they bid out each piece. When those run out, they re-bid them. So 10 different factories – using different designs – may make the same part.