I've been running a 66 amp Delcotron on my Farmall tractor with a 20A meter for around 20 years. When the battery is low, it pegs the needle for a short time, then swings back to a lower reading. After a normal start, it will not even peg and will swing back toward zero in just a few seconds. Most of the output in a modern vehicle goes toward running all the gadgets. They use high-output alternators so they can do that and still charge the battery in a reasonable length of time.
Generally speaking, you won't be charging the battery at anywhere near the full output of your charging system unless you are jump-starting another vehicle, and then not usually.
As far as burning your house down, the alternator only puts out current while the engine is running. I don't know of many folks who run their automobiles inside their houses.
Another thought, this may be one reason they switched to volt meters in newer models.
