When I purchased an emergency generator for my house a couple years back I opted for a Briggs Storm Responder. I use a generator power inlet to transfer power into my main panel. The inlet is wired through a 30 amp breaker so theoretically I can only get about 7500 watts of power through it before it trips. My generator is rated at 8500 peak watts and 6250 continuous watts. I would never try to run my air conditioner, washing machine or microwave while on generator power, but I can have all of my 200 amp panel powered with a full sized fridge, mini fridge, stand-up freezer, well pump, sump pump and a house full of lights on. The only issue that I have noticed is a strange noise coming from my ceiling fans. What I like about my generator is that it has a digital display that shows the power utilization. In my few times using it, I have never seen it go over 50%. The key in my case is to unplug all of the sensitive electronics such as computers and TVs which not only helps protect them from damage but to also keep the kids off of them.
In doing some research I did find that a company out there offers dual and tri-fuel kits for most any generator so flexibility with fuel type is always there. I have seen many generators out there but in my research I only really looked at Honda, Generac and Briggs. In the end, Generac did not have the power ratings I wanted available at a store, the Honda was too expensive and the Briggs was just right. Oh yeah, another thing to look at, depending on how you use it, is run time. My Storm Responder can run up to 11 hours on 8 gallons of fuel. Probably not the most efficient, but I believe there to be worse.