[RickFLM4]

I'm in FL and looked seriously at a Generac standby after three storms in 2 years about 9-10 years ago. It would have been a major investment because I have no natural gas access and would have needed to bury propane tanks. Additionally, if you really research it, the cost of actually running one is quite expensive and it should really be on a maintenance contract.

I opted instead for a very large portable (17.5) that I can plug into my panel when I need to use it. Basically a portion of the electrical panel (including our smaller central a/c, water heater, refrigerator, stove/oven and various lights and ceiling fans) is in a separate panel the generator can run. No need to run extension cords to plug into generator - the generator plugs into the panel. Total cost was under $3K vs. over $20K upfront for standby and since laws were passed to require all gas stations to have generators I'm less concerned about having gas available for it (got 6 empty 6 gallon plastic gas jugs I have in the garage). Ongoing maintenance is also much less of a burden.

All that being said... I have been fortunate to never use it since I got it. I sometimes wonder if I had done the standby if it would need to be replaced in the next few years - nothing lasts forever. Additionally, I think I'd be more inclined to put up the hurricane shutters and leave for somewhere north and further inland if a big storm comes (or if we stayed and power was out more than a few days). The large portable provides a happy medium - much better than nothing but not a huge investment relative to the frequency it will likely be used and the alternative to leave if power is out for very long.