A generator transfer switch is your safest method here. I have an 8 circuit switch I installed in the house I built. Northern Tools has a decent selection of them. I can run my freezer and fridge, wood stove blower, well pump, a few lights and outlets for TV, microwave, etc., off of my generator without worrying about backfeeding into the grid. I'm in a fairly rural area, one house from the end of the line. We get power outages from ice storms and other foul weather at least a couple of times a year here. The transfer switch has more than paid for itself in the past 14 years. My water heater is an LP fired on demand type made by Paloma. Nothing quite like having a hot shower when everybody else is doing without....
Thanks, I will check out the 8 circuit switch and I like the sounds of the Paloma water heater. I am also checking out wind, solar and hydro generators. I am considering making my own wind powered generator. The prices for the models on the market seem outrageous for what they are. I have read where there have been some major strides made in solar energy producing cells. I don’t like the idea of the large windfarms...to me they are a blight on the land. But, individual small windmills are great. I think in the future if we can slow the government down in their pushing of the large windfarms individuals may become independent of the monopolies the government set up and control in energy. Wouldn’t that be grand?