121103-1704 EDT
hawkeye23:
For the typical uneducated homeowner I suspect that an oversized automatic backup generator is the way to go. Very inefficient. Durability and quietness would be major concerns. If natural gas is low in cost in the area, then the generator should at least run on that source. A dual fuel might be a consideration.
My own needs could be supplied with a 3 kW unit and not really produce any great limitation in life style. I have a 5 kW portable, and it worked fine for the various outages I have encountered. Between my son and myself we have 4 about 5 kW portable units. Some better than others. Two were free and only required a little repair. Thinking of converting at least one to natural gas. These can be used at my daughter's, son's, my home, and the shop. Or at the neighbors. A lot of flexibility with portable generation.
Noise is a real problem with the portable units. Virtually no muffler, and 3600 RPM are the problem.
Motor inrush current is a problem with small generators, and the limitation is a result of very little inertia (flywheel), and the capacity of the engine to handle a very short large load.
You can see my power load profile when operating on the grid at
http://beta-a2.com/energy.html . See the graphs at the end of the web page.
Between Kohler and Generac I would choose Kohler.
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