HOUSTON — With Houston’s wicked weather, a lot of us may be doing some window shopping for a generator.
It seems like a simple solution to any power problems that may pop up, but picking the right one is not so simple. There are a lot of different types of generators at a lot of different price points. Determining what you want out of a generator and how much you’re willing to pay should be your first step.
On the slightly cheaper side - and we do mean slightly - are portable generators. These are something you would wheel out of a garage when the power goes out. They run on fuel, usually gasoline, but there are some propane models. The downside is you usually can’t use these to power your whole house - you would have to pick and choose what to keep up and running. They will still cost you around $1,000 or $1,500.
The other big option is a home standby generator. This is a generator that is installed permanently and is hardwired to your house. They typically run on natural gas or propane and most can run your whole house - within reason. You wouldn’t want to crank the air conditioner while running an electric dryer and a microwave. They kick on automatically when a power outage is detected. But of course, this convenience comes with a cost. They range from around $3,000 all the way up to $25,000.