Chas, that 22,000-watts sounds like a bit of overkill to me. Have you ever had your power consumption checked out to see what you actually draw? I run 3,500 square feet of house with central air, electric stove, big refrigerator, couple of flat screen TVs and two PCs on 6,500 watts. And, that also includes the power to run our well pump, which is a 3/4-HP electric submersible pump placed 550 feet beneath the ground. When the well pump kicks on, the lights dim slightly for a couple seconds, but that's about it. The gasoline generator runs forever on 6 gallons of gas. We have a 30-amp connection to the generator that is positioned beneath our deck and a connection to an inlet on the adjacent wall that feeds directly to a knife switch next to our 200-amp service box.

Our heating system is oil-fired, hot-water baseboard for the main level and the basement family room is heated with a ventless, propane, gas log fireplace. Our hot water is fed through the boiler used for the heat, and has a summer/winter hookup system. It heats ice cold water to 160 degrees in less than 3 minutes. No electric hot water tank to contend with and the first boiler lasted us 36 years before it had to be replaced. Replacement cost was about $3,000, which included labor for installation.

Good luck,

Gary