As someone mentioned yesterday, I'd much rather be in a cold house without power vs a hot house without power...

I have a 7kw generator, but don't have a transfer switch installed (never seems to make the priority list). No broadband is my biggest complaint at the moment, generator won't help that.

I'm assuming I could run one of my heaters given it's gas for the furnace and 110v electric for the blower(at least I think it is). What about a single central AC unit? I have no idea what the compressor and upstairs stuff would require.

Thanks
Charlie

I’ve been running broadband from the iPhone hotspot.

Cellphone internet (hotspot) and even SMS has been spotty yesterday and today. Tried downloadind a Netflix movie via hotspot, it took over an hour and when it got to it's last few bits, it error'ed out and started downloading from the beginning again. Needless to say, no movie last night.

Charlie

A/C is generally rated in tons of capacity, and a ton of cooling is approx 12,000 BTU. Most homes in the 1500-2000 sq ft range will be around 5-ton central air. That's a lot for a generator to carry (think about 20-30 amps of 220VAC). If you look at RV's, they run 13,500 BTU units with 4000 watt generators, and 15,000 with 5500 watts. You'd be better off powering up all the other electric stuff, and leaving the breaker open on the a/c.

You might look at adding a soft start capacitor to your A/C unit which dramatically lowers the start up amps required on the compressor.

Look for an info plate on your condenser unit - it should list amps for compressor and fan.
You’ll also need to power inside blower unit - it too should have an info plate.

If unit is under 3 tons & not too old, 7k should be plenty - and you can/should install the hard-start kit as mentioned.

Buy a couple of cheap window units and keep them stored away in case you ever need them. They will run directly off of the generator with no need to mess with the wiring in your home. Not a whole-home solution, but better than sweating your butt off.

As for your 110v gas furnaces, if they are wired directly, this is an easy modification for future use on a generator. Simply disconnect the power source from the furnace and terminate it to a new standard 110v outlet located near by, then use a typical appliance cord connected to the furnace and plug it in. Then when/if the power fails you can simply unplug the furnace and plug it in to generator power without the need of modifying wiring. If you want to run lighting and other individual circuits in your home without installing a transfer switch needed for a whole-home solution, this too is doable. Turn off the main breaker and all individual breakers in your panel so power can't feed back into the grid or bleed thru the panel into undesired circuits, then use a male/male cord to plug in desired circuits when power is needed. It's not the most comprehensive solution, but it can and does work.

I've done the male/male cord before in a crunch. Just turned off breakers in panel i didn't need or couldn't use.

I hope that includes the main breaker so you are not feeding power into the grid? Linemen really don't like that.

This. My sub panel for gen set have a toggle switch that connects gen set and drops main panel for feed back in one switch.