I want to outfit my house with a generator to run at least fridge/freezer and heating system in case of a prolonged blackout. I live in an urban area in Western MA, so blizzard and ice storms are the biggest threats. Oh, yeah, and I need to do it without breaking the bank. My electrician says I can get buy with 2000 watts for those needs, but I'm looking at some 3500w machines.

Here's the background.

Gas generators seem relatively cheap, but would require me to store too much gas. I've got three young kids, and no garage, so I'm not crazy about that idea.

When we switched our heating system from heating oil to Natural Gas I kept the heating oil tank in the basement. In theory I guess I could use this to supply a diesel generator.

I've now got Natural Gas for home heating, but I don't want to spend the money for one of those instant-on Kohler-style generators. I'm researching portable generators that could fueled with NG. From my perspective this would be my preferred option. Any thoughts here? Good generator leads?

I could also run one of propane, but to keep things simple I'd rather not have a big 100lb propane tank behind my house.

Any input on best options would be appreciated? I found a company in CA, duropower, that makes dual fuel gas/ng generators.

Thanks!