After this past power outage and the loss of $500+ in food, I'm considering getting a 10KW Generator. It is under $1000, but that's a lot of money to spend on something that you may not use more than once a year, and possibly not even that often. But if I have to use it twice, that will save me from having to throw away the food again, and 2-3 times will pay for itself.
It won't power the hot water heater or heat pump, but we CAN run the TV, DVR, cable box, computers, as well as several fans and lights - in addition to the fridge and freezer. So while it might be hot in the house with no AC and showers might be a mite chilly, we can run fans in the windows to move the air and make it livable. Could be a good thing.
