Instead, install a transfer or gentran switch near your electric panel. A transfer switch is automatic and a gentran switch is not. Each costs a few hundred dollars. Tony Esposito, manager of Menands True Value Hardware, stressed that generator buyers must calculate their power needs. His store carries Honda portable generators.
Generators run on either propane gas or oil.
Gasoline-powered generators must be installed outdoors away from the house. Built-in generators must be professionally installed by an electrician and hooked up to the electrical and fuel supply to the house. But the experts advise that even portable generators should be hooked up by a professional electrician. Esposito said that a 5,000-watt Honda generator can run on one tank of unleaded gasoline for eight to 10 hours. David Kinsley, general manager of Kinsley Power Systems in Albany, distributors of Kohler generators, said that homeowners shouldn't think of backing up their power supply with a generator just for possible Y2K problems.