[caljeff]

As stated above, the issue is not the underground lines in TV, but the lines above ground the get the power to TV from the distribution centers. I live in Pine Ridge between 466a and SR44 and during Irma I lost power for about a day. I considered an external generator solution, but gasoline storage and noise considerations put a quash on that in my mind.

[Dgodin]

Originally Posted by starflyte1

Ask someone who lives in parts of Lake County in The Villages how log the power was out after the hurricane a couple of years ago. I think 4 days.

When I moved here a neighbor told me a power outage had lasted 4 days. I bought a portable, 1700w generator to charge cell phones and run appliances but think the possibility of losing power is remote and would not spend a lot of money on a generator.

[Scorpyo]

I agree with most of the posts. A home standby generator would be way overkill. However, if you just want to run some lights and fans I would suggest a Honda EU2000 (I have one). The benefit is it is portable (although 47 lbs) and can be used for other things either at home or away. If we ever see the vendors at the square again you'll notice many of them use EU2000's. However, if you're looking to run your a/c you're going to need to have a transfer switch installed. You would need a slightly larger generator. I would recommend a Honda EU3000. I also have one of those. Did I mention I retired from Honda? Lastly many people don't realize it but generators need to be run away from the home. There are deaths every year from people using them in their garage or just too close to a window.

[Engine12]

Originally Posted by rjm1cc

The whole house generators are loud but then you have the windows open because the A/C is off. I would not worry about the noise.
You do have to pay attention to how close the generator is to the overhang of the roof so fumes do not enter the home.
You need some type of emergency pressure value (not sure I am using correct terms). You have this with your current service. This can be moved at little expense so I do not know why you could not locate the generator behind the wall.
I guess the Villages are unique if they have underground electric lines from the generating plant to your home.

We had a whole home generator installed several months ago. Everyone is correct that The Villages electric lines are underground, but how do those lines get supplied ? They get supplied by overhead, above ground lines. So, it’s kind of like insurance, we’ll probably never need it, but if we do, we’ll be happy having lights and air conditioning when it’s 90 degrees and humid out.
“Emergency Pressure Valve” no idea what that is, and we didn’t have to have it. Might be needed if being supplied by natural gas supply.
The generator has to be either 5’ or 5 1/2’ from a window or vent.
And if you have a whole house generator, you won’t have your windows open because you’ll have your A/C on.

[Engine12]

Originally Posted by sdeikenberry

It's more than just the utilities are underground in TV. All the supply lines feeding TV are above ground, so there's that problem to deal with in a bad storm. Also, if you don't have gas lines in your neighborhood, you'll need to have a supply of gasoline around. You'll also want ARC approval, as the generator will be noisy and your neighbors may not like it. The noise isn't just when there's an outage...the generator has to be run every week to exercise it.

If you don’t have natural gas in your neighborhood, you can have a propane tank buried in your yard for supply. You do NOT have to have a supply of gasoline !
Yes, ARC approval is needed, no problem there.
As far as neighbors go, all of our neighbors were contacted by us and no one has a problem, they have asked if they could plug chargers in, etc. And some have asked about plugging in a small fridge in to keep meds cold. And our answer to both has been of course you can !
As far as noise every week it lasts a whole 5 minutes, and most of that time is running at 50% or lower. Lawn mowers have drowned that noise out several times.

[ts12755]

My utilities are underground and I never went out in a storm although I did have a couple Bluesky outages over the five years I've been here. Mostly short-term.

[rwfisher1969]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

In the event of a hurricane that knocked out power for a period of time can see need for one but why whole house?

If the power goes out because of a hurricane, a whole house generator is the only type I would want. Life goes on like nothing ever happened with one.
We have one here in upstate NY. 20 seconds after the power goes out, the generator kicks on. Power for heat/AC, refrigerator/ freezer, lights and sump. I would not want to be without power for AC in Florida for any length of time in the heat and humidity that time of year.

[LianneMigiano]

Our power has gone out twice in 10 years here in the Village of Belle Aire (once for 5 minutes and the other for 30 minutes). We didn't ever lose power during hurricane Irma! I sure as the devil wouldn't be bothered by purchasing a generator!

[graciegirl]

Lost power for one day during Irma in living here since 2007.

[Michael A. David]

I have lived in The Villages for over 10 years and never had to start up my generator. At most the power has been out for a couple of hours.

[lwmilo]

Originally Posted by sdeikenberry

It's more than just the utilities are underground in TV. All the supply lines feeding TV are above ground, so there's that problem to deal with in a bad storm. Also, if you don't have gas lines in your neighborhood, you'll need to have a supply of gasoline around. You'll also want ARC approval, as the generator will be noisy and your neighbors may not like it. The noise isn't just when there's an outage...the generator has to be run every week to exercise it.

Absolutely correct...Dispite your electrical under ground feeds delivering service to your home, practically all of these primary feeds have to exit T V ( Excluding secondary feeds) and are attached to Primary or Hi Line poles which are mostly overhead. Take a look at the major roads and see the tall poles with High Voltage lines attached. Fortunatly TV has many dedicated feeds coming in the Vils and loads can be switched from one circuit to the other in case of an outage. Whew said a lot!!

[GypsyRN]

During IRMA, we lost power for almost 4 days...sure wished we'd had what we have NOW during that period of time! We now have a Champion 6250 starting watts/5000 running watts inverter generator and a new 200 amp panel with an interlock switch. With this arrangement, we can power two refrigerators and a standalone upright freezer and several other circuits. We can alternate power to the AC, should we desire to depending on the temperature outside. Maybe overkill, but don't come running to me when you need to keep all the food in your refrig/freezer from spoiling. And NO, it doesn't need to be exercised every month...we exercise it maybe 2-3 times a year. Choose wisely the size of the portable generator that you are considering purchasing...they're are all good...just a matter of size and costs. Good Luck.

[Alana33]

Originally Posted by Engine12

We had a whole home generator installed several months ago. Everyone is correct that The Villages electric lines are underground, but how do those lines get supplied ? They get supplied by overhead, above ground lines. So, it’s kind of like insurance, we’ll probably never need it, but if we do, we’ll be happy having lights and air conditioning when it’s 90 degrees and humid out.
“Emergency Pressure Valve” no idea what that is, and we didn’t have to have it. Might be needed if being supplied by natural gas supply.
The generator has to be either 5’ or 5 1/2’ from a window or vent.
And if you have a whole house generator, you won’t have your windows open because you’ll have your A/C on.

Yep! I bought a whole house propane generator with auto transfer after Irma blew thru and had no power for 8 - 10 miserably hot days. It's not like you can open a window and catch any breeze up here in summer. It's actually pretty quiet.

If I never have to use it, that's fine but I'm happy to have it. I live in Lady Lake, right outside the Villages.
I moved here from the Virgin Islands and everyone has generators.

[queasy27]

Underground utilities or not, I'm in some kind of Bermuda Triangle area of TV where power outages occur several times a year. They typically only last 1-2 hours, but Irma took us out for 4 days. Adjoining neighborhoods were fine.

We were back to the '20s with no refrigeration, A/C, Internet, ebooks, cell phones, etc. Once the power was back, it took me about two hours just to feed all the spoiled food from my fridge and full size freezer down the disposal.

That type of thing will scar a person and I've been meaning to buy a whole-house generator but my friend procrastination set in. Next year's hurricane season for sure!

[rjm1cc]

I run my weekly maint. at 2am and no one is up to hear it and with the windows closed no one would. Unless they are outside they probably do not notice it during the day.