Portable Whole House Generators (PWHG) OUR STORY

Hurricane Ike (2008): When Hurricane Ike hit in September of 2008, I lost power for over a week. Thankfully I had a typical “Big Box” portable generator. This was the first time I ever used a generator for emergency power. I discovered really quickly the challenges you face when using a portable generator in an emergency, which included: pulling out heavy refrigerators and freezers to directly connect extension cords that were spread all over my home; the challenge of getting gasoline locally during a widespread power outage; the challenge of refilling a hot generator with fuel (must be turned off and cool before safely refilling), etc. Thankfully, due to central A/C breakdown earlier that summer, I had purchased and installed a window unit A/C installed in my master bedroom. As the temperature was in the mid 90’s right after Hurricane Ike came through, I ran an extension cord from the portable generator to that A/C unit for sure! I was very grateful to have “some power” and a cool room during the power outage, but I also learned the 2 things I disliked most about having a portable generator:

• Gasoline Presents a Number of Challenges: First of all, to keep your gasoline generator ready to run for an emergency: a. I had to make sure I added fuel stabilizer to the gasoline wouldn’t go bad; b I had to drag the generator out of the garage, and start it EVERY MONTH! Why? I learned that if I didn’t do this religiously, the generator “gum up” and my generator wouldn’t start when I needed it; then, c: I had to purchase a handful of large gas cans that I would never use otherwise, and d. purchase large amounts of gasoline to have on hand as I awaited an oncoming storm; and lastly (and it gets worse), e. When the storm hit and caused regional and prolonged power outages, I struggled terribly to buy more gasoline as there was no electricity to run the gas pumps at the convenience stores and gas stations! So, I had to travel long distances and wait in line for gasoline to keep my generator running.
• Extension Cords and their Limitations: This was a royal pain! First: a. You need to purchase heavy gauge (and expensive) extension cords to run power from the generator to your appliances long distances throughout your home; then, b: As your generator is outside and your appliances are inside, you remove window screens and run extension cords through open windows, or under doors (which makes your home insecure and gives an opening for bugs to harass you all day long); then you had to, c. Wrestle with large appliances to get access to their power cords behind them: and d. You were limited as to what you could run by the number of extension cords and plugs. Frankly, I hated the mess, the cords, the open windows and doors, and most of all, the huge limitation of what things had power! Like one of the neighbors told me, “It’s nice to have a portable generator, but it’s basically useless!.”

So, I set out on a mission to fix the “Gasoline” and “Extension Cord” problems. First, I wanted to run my generator on natural gas as this fuel source is run underground, rarely goes out in storms, and is “always” available PLUS no need to refill gas cans!) Secondly, I wanted to find a way to legally and easily feed the generator power to all areas of my home. I had heard about people backfeeding power through their house through their 220V Dryer plug, the risk of “suicide cords” that people made up, the risk of electrocuting a lineman working to restore power. Bottom line, if not done correctly, it was dangerous, potentially deadly, and illegal!