My friend just moved to Indiana and is buying a Generator

[focusondisney]

Having underground power lines in your development is no guarantee power won't go out.

Exactly. The lines in our development are buried, but the transformer they connect to goes out randomly. Sometimes snow, wind or thunderstorms cause it to go out, sometimes it just happens.

 

[Gary M]

I live in Indiana and have had a natural gas powered generator for nearly 10 years. I know several people in our area that have one. It has been used several times in the 10 years.

 

[DisneyHardin]

I live in Kentucky and we have a portable generator. We seem to get lots of wind/rain storms that knock out power, so it's handy to have.

 

[scrapquitler]

Is that common in the Midwest?

I figured maybe if you lived near the ocean like Miami.

Just wondering....please no hate.

I don't see why that would be strange. Power can go out anywhere. I'd assume that in the midwest, they could have severe thunderstorms, tornadoes or snowstorms that could cause prolonged power outages. Hurricanes are not the only reason for power to go out.

 

[tcufrog]

We live in Texas and I wish we had had one for our previous home. Our home was in a more rural area and was one of the last areas to be restored. We once lost power for a week even though many of our friends who lived only 15 minutes away had power. We couldn't stay with them though because the roads were too hilly and icy. We couldn't even safely get down our driveway.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

I live in NJ and we lose power on a regular basis. often times for several days at a time. We have had a generator for decades.

 

[js]

I live in New York and have a generator and have used it. First time being during Sandy and was without power for a week (well we had it with the generator).

 

[sam_gordon]

Also in Kentucky, and aside from the ice storm mentioned previously, in the 20+ years we've been in our home, while we have lost power occasionally, at the most it's a couple of hours. The ROI for a home generator just isn't worth it to me.

I totally disagree with those saying a generator is ALWAYS a good idea. Not only do you have the install costs, but you have maintenance cost to make sure it works when you need it. I think you (general) should look at how much you'd use a generator before deciding to purchase one.

 

[mom2rtk]

We have ice storms in the midwest. It's a great idea if you can afford one.

 

[DisneyHardin]

Also in Kentucky, and aside from the ice storm mentioned previously, in the 20+ years we've been in our home, while we have lost power occasionally, at the most it's a couple of hours. The ROI for a home generator just isn't worth it to me.

I totally disagree with those saying a generator is ALWAYS a good idea. Not only do you have the install costs, but you have maintenance cost to make sure it works when you need it. I think you (general) should look at how much you'd use a generator before deciding to purchase one.

I didn't realize you were a fellow Kentuckian

 

[Chili327]

Can't say how common it is, but we have a generator and live in California. Power outages happen everywhere.

Exactly. And in some parts of California we now have Public Safety Power Shutoffs on windy days so that if a powerline blows down, it doesn't start a wild fire, so more people are buying generators.
It may also depend on whether you have medical equipment that requires electricity, or other equipment that can't be without power.
I would expect most of those getting generators would tend to live in rural areas. Many businesses and facilities have generators......hospitals......TV Stations......grocery stores.
And getting a "generator" can be anything from a $179 portable gas powered generator to a $10,000 permanent whole house natural gas/propane powered system that powers your whole house.

In CA as well, & yes we have a Generac, automatically comes on when the power goes out. It's been great to have more than a few times over the last few years,

 

[ICF]

A couple of our neighbors have them, but we never have and have never really needed it.

Once in 50 years we lost power for a few days -- but otherwise never had any power issues other than the random hour or so once or twice a year.

 

[sam_gordon]

I didn't realize you were a fellow Kentuckian

Yup. Came for college, married a KY girl, and been here ever since

 

[HeatherC]

Also in Kentucky, and aside from the ice storm mentioned previously, in the 20+ years we've been in our home, while we have lost power occasionally, at the most it's a couple of hours. The ROI for a home generator just isn't worth it to me.

I totally disagree with those saying a generator is ALWAYS a good idea. Not only do you have the install costs, but you have maintenance cost to make sure it works when you need it. I think you (general) should look at how much you'd use a generator before deciding to purchase one.

We don’t have a “home” generator, just a large one that will power everything we need. It was $800 and is gas powered. It powers our well, heat, lights, freezer and fridge. Well worth every penny. They don’t have to be cost prohibitive and are a life saver when you actually need one.

 

[bluezy]

We don’t have a “home” generator, just a large one that will power everything we need. It was $800 and is gas powered. It powers our well, heat, lights, freezer and fridge. Well worth every penny. They don’t have to be cost prohibitive and are a life saver when you actually need one.

Exactly!! It can be a fairly reasonable investment and worth every single penny when you need it. Our generator takes about 5-7 minutes to get out, set up, and get running. It supplies enough power to run most of the lights, most outlets, the microwave, 2 refrigerators, 1 freezer, the wifi, 2 TVs, and either the water pump or the heat/mini-split a/c unit (we can't have both the water pump and the heat/ac running at the same time along with all of the other stuff, so we run one or the other and switch when we need to.). Once the generator is running, we can continue our usual routines for the most part. You never know that first time you're going to have a lengthy outage. When it happens, you'll kick yourself for not getting *some type* of generator before that. We have *never* regretted the purchase even though we've probably only used it 10 times in the last 12 years (and only 2 of those times were for more than 12 hours). It was a wise investment. We lost over $500 worth of food when we were out of power for 5+ days after a brush with the outskirts of Hurricane Sandy. That was enough to push us over the edge to buy the generator (we had been talking about it for years).

 

[sam_gordon]

We don’t have a “home” generator, just a large one that will power everything we need. It was $800 and is gas powered. It powers our well, heat, lights, freezer and fridge. Well worth every penny. They don’t have to be cost prohibitive and are a life saver when you actually need one.

I have nothing against generators. And I agree, when you NEED one, they're invaluable. However, IMO, it comes down to how often you NEED it. And that will vary by person, which is why I disagree that it's ALWAYS a good idea to have.

 

[focusondisney]

Also in Kentucky, and aside from the ice storm mentioned previously, in the 20+ years we've been in our home, while we have lost power occasionally, at the most it's a couple of hours. The ROI for a home generator just isn't worth it to me.

I totally disagree with those saying a generator is ALWAYS a good idea. Not only do you have the install costs, but you have maintenance cost to make sure it works when you need it. I think you (general) should look at how much you'd use a generator before deciding to purchase one.

Yea, everyone needs to make an individualized decision. Over the years the longest we lost power was for about 30 hours. But we get a few outages a year that last 1- 6 hours. Other towns in our area have lost power for a week - 10 days after severe ice storms. We didn’t mind roughing it without electricity when we were younger. But we’re mid 60s & retired now & the thought of being in a cold dark house as we get old wasn’t appealing. So we got a whole house stand by generator that comes on automatically if the power is out for 30 seconds. We have the company come out & do annual maintenance that costs about $160.

I’m looking at it the same way I look at home owner’s insurance, a necessity you hope you never need. I understand everyone doesn’t have a need for one. I do see a lot more people in our area getting them.

 

[mikehn]

My brother lives in Indianapolis and when I asked him this, he looked at me like I had three heads.

 

[EACarlson]

A big part of the question is where in Indiana and how responsive is the power company. I've got family in Lake and LaPorte counties in northwestern Indiana, and they don't have them but should. NIPSCO doesn't work real hard for the residential customers and honestly, running a natural gas generator might be cheaper than NIPSCO anyway. I'm up in Wisconsin and do not have a generator. If I had the extra money to through around I would get a whole house Generac. We've been in our house for a little over a year and only lost power for a few minutes total. I'm right next to the airport which is the second place in town to get power restored if it ever goes out, right after the hospitals that are very close to each other on the other side of town.

 

[DisneyHardin]

We don’t have a “home” generator, just a large one that will power everything we need. It was $800 and is gas powered. It powers our well, heat, lights, freezer and fridge. Well worth every penny. They don’t have to be cost prohibitive and are a life saver when you actually need one.

That’s what we have too. We mostly just use it to keep the fridge/freezer going, and a couple lights. We’ve also loaned it out a few times to other family members and that’s always appreciated.