My home in rural PA needs a generator to survive. Our boiler is wood-fired, and a loss of electricity kills the circulating pumps; no circulation means an over pressure in about 15 minutes. Bad, very bad.
I got a 6500 watt silent diesel and put in an automatic transfer switch to pick up essential loads. I went with diesel since there was no propane line anywhere near the generator, and gasoline is too dangerous to store in quantity.
My only problem right now is that I have a low-voltage condition that seems to be the result of my
installation. Dumb stuff runs just fine (circulating pumps, lights, etc), but the UPSs hate it and cycle constantly. It's on the top of my list of things to fix when I get home again.
I'm in the service and have come to expect back-up power as a norm. Even my apartment building here in Arlington, VA has a generator to run safety lights and water pumps. (It's nice to cook with gas!)