Ok guys (and maybe a few gals,) here is your chance to impress a ditzy blond with your guy knowledge.

I'm looking at gas generators (actually, for my parents.) They range in price from about $450 to a couple of thousand dollars and I understand absolutely nothing about the specs. My elderly and infirm parents got home today after a 4 day power outage due to the recent east coast winter storm. They are not resilient as they once were. My ex-brother-in-law (sister deceased) and his wife hosted them for a couple of days, but Ma & Pa couldn't tolerate the 8 dogs and moved to a motel, which they can ill afford, until the power was restored this morning. Significant power outages occur every couple of years. They live in a 3000 sq. foot house with baseboard hot water heat. The boiler is gas-fired, as is the hot water tank, but the controls are electric, so no electricity=no heat. All appliances are electric.    The 3500 square feet are divided in half between a completely finished basement with galley kitchen inhabited by my no-count nephew and the first and main floor with the main kitchen, bedrooms and living area where my parents stay. Either floor is entirely livable, can be closed off from the other, and have separate thermostats. (the 1st floor has two thermostats, one in the rear hall that controls the heat in the bedrooms, and another that controls heat in the kitchen and living room, but these two areas can not be closed off from one another. How much generator is necessary for them to supply either the basement or the 1st floor with heat and enough power to run the cookstove, both refrigerators and the freezer. (or is that the wrong question?)