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Will Electric Generators Become "Must-Have" Home Appliances?

By Lloyd Binen

Real Estate Agent with Certified Realty Services BRE# 00572654

July 10, 2012 09:46 AM

Will Electric Generators Become "Must-Have" Home Appliances?

Electric power outages darkened a wide swath of the country last week. Hundreds of thousands of Midwest and Northeasterners lost power. As of last Sunday, more than 10,000 residents in Ohio were still without electricity after 9 days. That means no refrigeration (for food, people, pets or medicine), no electric appliances or desktop computers, no re-charging portables including iPhones & iPads and no re-charging the Nissan Leaf or new Tesla S.

Electric power interruptions, blackouts and rolling brownouts are predicted to occur with greater frequency in the near future.

More severe and frequent "weather events" are forecast by climatologists and others. More storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, floods will invariably damage our electric infrastructure more often. Blackouts and rolling brownouts will result.

We also hear warnings about the reliability of our power grid, even with no damage from severe weather events. Shutting down coal-fired power plants to comply with EPA air-quality regulations will cause unreliable power generation during high-demand periods, some say.

Could a Stuxnet-like virus infect our own electric infrastructure and cripple the computerized controls for our electric grid? We did it to Iranian centrifuges.

In this new normal environment of unreliable electric service, will electric generators become a "Must Have" home appliance? Just imagine it in Stainless Steel.

Lloyd Binen

Realtor/Broker/DRE 572654

Certified Realty Services

19200 Shubert Drive

Saratoga, CA 95070-4046

Certified Residential Specialist (CRS); Graduate Realtors Institute (GRI)

408-373-4411; e-mail

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Lisa Von Domek

Lisa Von Domek Team - Dallas, TX

....Experience Isn't Expensive.... It's Priceless!

Hello Lloyd,

I won't get rid of our generator...you don't need one often, but they can be a "must-have"!

Jul 10, 2012 09:48 AM

Bruce Walter

Keller Williams Realty Lafayette/West Lafayette, Indiana - West Lafayette, IN

Lloyd, some people do have the portable generators. I have have only seen one permanent generator come up in a sale. Good thought and may be more permanent generators installed in the future.

Jul 10, 2012 10:02 AM

Kathy Sheehan

Bay Equity, LLC 770-634-4021 - Atlanta, GA

Senior Loan Officer

In certain parts of the country I would think it would be a good idea to be prepared.

Jul 10, 2012 11:10 AM

Carolyn Crispin

Keller Williams Tri-Lakes - Branson, MO

Crispin Team Sells Branson Homes Land & Commercial

i would go for a natural gas generator as the united states has a large supply of natural gas.

Jul 10, 2012 11:10 AM

Lawrence "Larry" & Sheila Agranoff. Cell: 631-805-4400

The Top Team @ Charles Rutenberg Realty 255 Executive Dr, Plainview NY 11803 - Plainview, NY

Long Island Condo and Home Specialists

Lloyd, The weather patterns are tricky these days...who knows what the next "must have" will be!

Jul 10, 2012 06:58 PM

Lloyd Binen

Certified Realty Services - Saratoga, CA

Silicon Valley Realtor since 1976; 408-373-4411

Lisa, I view a generator as a valuable amenity. Do you live in an urban, suburban or rural area?

Bruce, I've listed 3-4 suburban homes with backup generators. They all have one thing in common--very self-reliant homeowners. And a very serious fisherman who might have a heart attack if his frozen Alaskan Salmon which he catches every year thrawed and spoiled.

Kathy, hi. Some suburban homeowners out here have them, but rarely need them. As I mentioned to Bruce, they're very self-reliant homeowners.

Carolyn, I didn't know LNG electric generators existed. That would be a "greener" option and it's a terrific idea.

Larry and Sheila, did LI lose power?

Jul 11, 2012 03:09 AM

Cindy Westfall

Premiere Property Group,LLC Portland Metro & Suburbs Oregon - Tualatin, OR

ABR,GRI Your Tualatin & Portland Metro Real Estate

Hi Lloyd, I hadn't thought of it before, but it just makes sense with us all being so gadget and electric dependent! I can't imagine being without electricity and not being able to charge my phone and computer. Oh yeah, I'd say if not..it should be!

Jul 11, 2012 02:11 PM

Lloyd Binen

Certified Realty Services - Saratoga, CA

Silicon Valley Realtor since 1976; 408-373-4411

Hi Cindy, almost everything stops when we have a blackout.

Jul 11, 2012 04:37 PM

Sharon Tara

Sharon Tara Transformations - Portsmouth, NH

Retired New Hampshire Home Stager

As you know, we recently moved. Our past house had sump pump issues and we had to have a generator. We had no choice. The few times the power did go out, it was a savior. Sure it protected the basement from flooding, but having the lights, tv, heat, and kitchen appliances when no else did was pretty awesome. The new house doesn't have one, but we have already discussed getting one at some point. You may not need them often, but when you do....

Jul 11, 2012 08:50 PM

Lloyd Binen

Certified Realty Services - Saratoga, CA

Silicon Valley Realtor since 1976; 408-373-4411

Hi Sharon, Sump pump issues sounds like a hassle. We don't have basement water problems because we don't have basements, but there are some homes on raised concrete foundations that have standing water under them during rainy months. Frogs love those houses. Home generators are very rare in suburban Silicon Valley. I don't have one, but I think maybe I should. The local utility company, P.G.& E., has improved their reliability over the last 10-12 years, but outages create havoc for many. A lot of high tech companies have huge back-up generators.

Will we get to see a picture of you holding Jacinda Zoey? Yes, I know it's for Wordless Wednesday. I'll wait. I know you're holding Thomas in this one, and I like it.

Jul 12, 2012 02:56 PM

Sharon Tara

Sharon Tara Transformations - Portsmouth, NH

Retired New Hampshire Home Stager

You don't have to wait until Wednesday....I already posted a pic of me holding little Jacinda. You must have missed it.

new baby

Jul 13, 2012 05:43 AM

Lloyd Binen

Certified Realty Services - Saratoga, CA

Silicon Valley Realtor since 1976; 408-373-4411

Oh, I did see that picture of you and Jacinda, but I didn't remember until you showed it to me again. Old age. Jacinda Zoey is a picture of peacefulness. Did you knit her cap?

But if you crop this picture for your AR photo, it's not as good. It's a profile and a little dark. So keep the current one where you're holding Thomas and glowing. Have a good weekend, my dear, and thanks for the photo.

Jul 13, 2012 05:59 AM

Pacita Dimacali

Alain Pinel - Oakland, CA

Alameda/Contra Costa Counties CA

Lloyd

When I read about natural disasters etc that knock out power lines, it makes me think about generators. But what if they got wet or submerged in a flash flood, etc. Will they still work?

Fortunately, I live in an area where we haven't suffered any brown/black outs (yet). Guess I'll just stock up on canned goods, candles and matches :)

Jul 14, 2012 05:32 PM

Lloyd Binen

Certified Realty Services - Saratoga, CA

Silicon Valley Realtor since 1976; 408-373-4411

Hi Pacita, generators don't work if they're submerged. Maybe they'd need to be in the attic area and vented through the roof. They're putting furnaces in the attic, why not generators? except the gasoline needs to be replaced quarterly and that would be a hassle if it was in the attic.

Jul 15, 2012 11:22 AM

Hella Mitschke Rothwell

(831) 626-4000 - Honolulu, HI

Hawaii & California Real Estate Broker

Lloyd: Up in Del Norte County, having a generator is not unusual. Many people also use propane and have a big tank that lasts for awhile, plus fireplaces, fireplace inserts, and wood burning stoves. There's lots of wood around. Our water where I am comes directly out of the Smith River. With all that we are not as reliant on utilities such as in more urban areas. And electricity frequently fails. Up here trees fall over powerlines quite a bit or lightning strikes them. But we are ready!

Jul 15, 2012 05:14 PM

Jordon Wheeler

The Jordon Wheeler Group - Fairburn, GA

J W Group Real Estate Sales and Service

Hey Lloyd,

I believe generators will become a part of more homes in the future for the reasons you discuss in your post. Natural disasters and the possibility of a power grid failure are good reasons for homeowners to purchase a home generator.

Best of success to you this year!

Jul 18, 2012 02:45 AM

Lloyd Binen

Certified Realty Services - Saratoga, CA

Silicon Valley Realtor since 1976; 408-373-4411

Hi Jordan, Thanks.

Jul 19, 2012 06:44 AM

Gita Bantwal

RE/MAX Centre Realtors - Warwick, PA

REALTOR,ABR,CRS,SRES,GRI - Bucks County & Philadel

Thank you for the information. There was a power outage for couple of days in my area and many people went to Lowes to buy generators. Fortunately our side of the street was affected for only a few hours.

Jul 22, 2012 09:20 PM