Home backup power: state of the art and some allegedly near term options

We're having a winter to remember here in the Pacific Northwest and elsewhere in the U.S.:

With effects like this:

Near Bend OR in 2015

And this:

Let's look at some options for keeping light and heat going in the wake of grid-disrupting weather like this.

The Traditional: A Generator

This is an engine similar to the one in a car that drives an electric generator and an inverter (to make DC into AC).

There are certainly smaller and cheaper options available; one like this including installation cost me about $6500 for enough to back up all refrigerator, freezer, heat and internet and most of the lights.

This included installation of an essential piece of equipment, an automatic transfer switch:

This thing detects an outage in the grid power and automatically sends a signal to start the generator and hook it into the part of the house's power circuitry that you've chosen to back up.

These generators also require a once-per-week test run for maybe 20 minutes, to make sure they're ready to go during the real thing. For this reason you'll have to get the oil changed around once per year, even if the power never goes out.

I strongly recommend propane as fuel for your generator and with this automatic system and enough propane in the tank to run for an extended outage, you are all set. I trust this makes sense to you, rather than:

Especially during a storm! 

The Coming Thing: Tesla Powerwall

There's an extended review I read saying total cost for one of these to back up a 5KW solar system is something like $15,000 installed. This price should come down, as most technology prices do ... and there's no fuel to think about and it should be nearly maintenance free ...

The Still Out There a Ways: Home Fuel Cell

I've been tracking Redox Energy since 2013 and their systems STILL aren't for sale. This is really what I want, but I'm not holding my breath.

Good luck ... stay warm and safe this winter!