By the way... if I had to do it all again, having a forced air oil fired furnace, I would get an oil stove (or even two) and a smaller generator and to heck with an emergency panel. Now, it would be "fun" running up certain quip by heavy duty "extension cords", but it would also be a heck of a lot cheaper.

Hmmm... I had better give an example... run the freezer until it cycles and unplug it. It's good for at least 12 hours if it's over half full. Of course, here, I have a HUGE freezer that doesn't need power for 4 months a year. It's called a garage.