Cost of Portable Generator Compared to Standby Generator

COMPARISON OF CATEGORIES BETWEEN PORTABLE AND STATIONARY GENERATORS FOR HOME STANDBY USE
Category	Typical	Portable	Stationary	Winner
		6,000 Watts	12,000 Watts	Stationary
Models	Portable vs Residential	Winco WC6000HE	Onan RS12000	Onan RS12000
Time of Need	Usually at night, bad weather	Must be protected from rain.	In protected cabinet.	Stationary
Powers	% of House	50%	100%	Stationary
Largest Single Load	Due to plug restrictions	20 Amps	100 Amps	Stationaryhttp://www.magictolight.com/generator_service_and_installation.html
Remote Control/Start	Automatic Preferred	No Auto-start	Auto-start Standard	Stationary
Auto Choking	Automatic Preferred	No Auto-choke	Auto-Choke Standard	Stationary
Move In/Out	Permanent Desirable	Required unless shelter	Move not required	Stationary
Setup or Connecting	Permanent Desirable	Required unless shelter	Always Connected	Stationary
Transfer of Power	Automatic Preferred	Manual Only	Automatic	Stationary. Automatic
Unattended Operation	Unattended desirable	Short Periods Only	Runs Unattended	Stationary
Operation by Family	Desirable	Usually difficult	Automatic Operation	Stationary
Weather Protection	Desirable	Requires shelter or move out/in	Enclosure Standard	Stationary
Security	Desirable	Easy to steal if left out	Anchored to ground	Stationary
Security During Operation	Highly Desirable	Must go outside during storm to start and refuel	Runs Automatically	Stationary
Security Storage	Highly Desirable	Must keep inside and drain fuel	Secure Outside	Stationary
Fuel Tank Type	Strongest Preferred	Usually plastic	Usually steel	Stationary
Fuel Tank Size	Larger better than smaller	4.5 gallons	50-100 gallons	Stationary
Run Time per Tank	Longer is better	at 1/2 load 11.2 hours at full load 5 hours	200 gallon tank lasts 40 hours	Stationary
Refueling	Automatic Preferred	Every 5-11 hours @ 1/2 load	Every 40 hours	Stationary
Storage of Fuel	Desirable, if safe	Fuel cans outside, not inside	In Tank Outside	Stationary
Fuel Economy	@ Full Load	Poor	Excellent	Stationary
Refueling System	Automatic Preferred	By hand with cans, stop generator	By Fuel Supplier	Stationary
Layout	Simple is Preferred	See Diagrams	See Diagrams	Stationary
Number of Parts	Smallest number preferred	4, generator, switch, outlet, cord	2, generator & switch	Stationary
Generator Cost	Lower is better than higher	$1,918	$4,202	Stationary
Transfer Switch Cost	Lower is better than higher	Gen-Tran 200600, Manual, $235	Onan Indoor, 100 Amp, Automatic, $670	Portable, Manual
Other Parts	Outlet box, cords, plug	Gen-Tran $125	Fuel Tank, $200	Stationary
Estimated Install Labor (electrician)	Lower is better than higher	$500	$900	Stationary
Total Initial Cost	Lower is better than higher	$2,778.00	$5,972, ($3,194 more)	Portable
Cost Per Hour to Run @ 1/2 Load	Lower is better than higher	0.53 gallons per hour or $1.50 hr	54 cu.ft/hr, < $1.00 hour	Stationary
Estimated Life Hours	Longer is better than shorter	2,000	10,000	Stationary
Years of Life	Longer is better than shorter	555	15	Stationary
Cost per year life years	Lower is better than higher	$574	$398	Stationary
Noise	Lower is better than higher	79 db(A)	<70 db(A)	Stationary
Oil Capacity	Larger better than smaller	1 Quart	3 quarts	Stationary
Adds to value of home?	According to RE appraiser	No	Yes 50% Minimum	Stationary
Need Permit?	According to City of Santa Rosa in California	No	Yes, $25	Portable

Even though the Portable is cheaper overall, by almost double in the 6,000 watt size and only $3,194 more in the 12,000 watt size; you have to ask yourself, is it worth the savings. I reality you only get 50 % of the power off a portable because you can only get the output from one plug which is 1/2 of the #Generators capacity unless there is a full power plug.

If you, (or your family members if you are out of town, sick or injured),  must struggle one time to haul the portable out, plug it in and refuel it in foul weather at night every 4-11 hours, is it worth the difference in savings.

Read the list over a few times and you should conclude that unless you love to get cold and wet, stay up late and play survivor, your better off to have an installed system that is totally automatic.

REMEMBER: Cost is only one factor. Carefully consider the safety, security, setup and storage issues shown on the chart.

Information from  Generator Joe