When the power goes out, most people find out the hard way which things in the house actually matter. The fridge. The freezer. The heat.
You do not need a permanent whole-home system to keep those running. We install a portable tri-fuel generator that covers the essentials, costs a fraction of a standby unit, and goes with you if you move.
What we install
The DuroStar 13,000 watt tri-fuel portable generator with a built-in carbon monoxide alert.
Tri-fuel means it runs on three things: regular gasoline, propane, or natural gas. That matters more than it sounds. In a long outage the fuel you can actually get is the fuel that counts, and you are not locked to one supply line.
Portable or whole-home, honestly
Both work. They solve different problems, and the right answer depends on what you need running and what you want to spend.
Whole-home standby
Fuel. Natural gas or propane, already on site.
What it runs. The whole house, for days.
Cost. The benchmark.
If you move. Stays with the house.
Portable tri-fuel, what we install
Fuel. Gasoline, propane or natural gas.
What it runs. Up to 50 amps. The basics, not the whole house.
Cost. Less than a tenth, per our electrician.
If you move. Goes with you.
A whole-home unit is the better machine. During a storm outage it runs the house like nothing happened, for days on end. If you have gas on site and the budget, it is hard to beat.
The catch is that first condition. A whole-home unit needs natural gas or propane already on site. If you do not have it, you are adding a gas line or a propane tank before you have bought a single watt of backup power.
A portable does not care. It runs on gasoline out of a can, which means the option is open to you whether or not there is gas at the property.
The portable is the better value, and for most people it covers what they actually needed covered.
What 50 amps actually runs
This is the honest limit, and it is the number to plan around. A portable covers up to 50 amps. We run either a 30 or a 50 amp circuit; 50 is the ceiling for this unit. That usually reaches the basics in an average household: most HVAC systems, the fridge, the freezer.
What it does not do is run the entire house at once the way a standby unit does. Anyone who tells you a portable is the same thing as a whole-home system is selling you something. It is not the same machine. It is the machine that keeps the important things on.
Tell us what you need running and we will tell you straight whether 50 amps covers it.
A word on carbon monoxide
The unit we install has a carbon monoxide alert built in, and that is there for a reason. A portable generator burns fuel and produces exhaust.
Never run one indoors, in a garage, in a basement, or near an open window or door, even with the garage door up. Outside, away from the structure, every time. The alert is a backstop, not permission.
What the install includes
A dedicated 30 or 50 amp circuit, run from your main panel to a weatherproof inlet on an outside wall. At the panel we fit a manual interlock switch.
The interlock is the safety piece and it is not optional. It makes it physically impossible for the generator and the utility to feed your panel at the same time. That is what protects the line crews working to get your power back, and it is why this is not a job for an extension cord through a window.
No permit is required. This is classed as an upgrade rather than new construction. It is always done by a licensed electrician.
The inlet can go almost anywhere on an exterior wall. We prefer a well-ventilated spot at least 20 feet from windows and doors, which is the same reason the unit has a carbon monoxide alert on it. The circuit is priced by the foot, so the further the inlet sits from your panel, the longer the run and the more it costs. We will walk it with you before we quote.
Fuel, in plain terms
Gasoline is the default. It runs on regular gasoline, the same as a lawnmower. Nothing to plumb, nothing to connect.
Propane works off the tank you already own. The same tank that runs your barbecue grill will run this generator, with no plumber and no gas line. Propane also does not go stale the way gasoline does, so a spare tank bought today is still good the night you need it.
Natural gas or a permanent propane supply is an option. If you want the unit plumbed to a standing supply, we will get you a quote from a licensed plumber we work with. That is a separate piece of work, and most people do not need it.
We can bring the generator with us
You can buy the unit yourself and we will install it. We would rather supply it, and there is a practical reason.
If we arrive with the generator, we hook it up and test it in the same visit. You watch it start, you watch it carry the load, and you know it works before we leave rather than the first night the power goes out. We sell it at the same price you would pay at the big-box store, so it costs you nothing to have it handled in one trip.
The generator, the cord and propane are quoted as extras on top of the electrical work.
Commercial spaces too
The same install works for a commercial tenant. If a power loss in your leased space means spoiled inventory, a frozen pipe, or a day you cannot open, the same 50 amps covers the same essentials.
We already handle commercial electrical for tenants across Farmers Branch, Addison and Lewisville, so it is the same crew and the same number.
How we quote it
Three things move the number, and we cannot price any of them from a phone call.
Distance is the biggest factor. The circuit is priced by the foot, so the distance from your electrical panel to the outdoor inlet drives most of the cost. A short run costs less than a long one.
Circuit size is decided by load. We run a dedicated 30 amp or 50 amp circuit, and which one you need depends on what you want the generator to carry.
What you add changes the total. The generator itself is an extra if we supply it, priced the same as you would pay at retail. The cord and propane are extras too, if you want us to bring them.
We cannot turn any of that into a real number until we see your panel and your property. Every job starts with a free on-site estimate, and that visit is where distance, circuit size, and what you want us to supply get priced for your situation. Any work beyond the original quote gets approved by you, in writing, before we start.