Stephen from Little Silver, NJ has been a Green Sun Energy Services client since June of 2020. The generator was installed by another company and commissioned in December of 2016, and the servicing came to us three and a half years later with the five-year service. A diagnostic visit followed in January of 2021 and found the fault: the controller had failed outright and would not accept a program. A controller is the part that decides when a generator starts, and one that has failed leaves a machine that looks perfectly serviceable and will not run when the power goes out – the sort of thing found by somebody opening the enclosure rather than by waiting for a storm. Servicing here is arranged as and when rather than on a plan.
Project Facts
- Location
- Little Silver, NJ
- Service
- Standby Generator Service
- Client since
- June 2020
- Manufacturer
- Generac Model # RG04854ANAX
- Rated output
- 48 kW LP / 48 kW NG
- Fuel
- Natural Gas
- Transfer switch
- 200 amp
- Load management
- Managed Whole House
Standby generator questions from Little Silver homeowners
Can the existing natural-gas service in a Little Silver home supply a generator?
Often yes, but the gas system has to be evaluated first. The review covers the generator's BTU demand, meter capacity, available pressure, regulator capacity, pipe diameter and length, and every other gas appliance in the house -- furnace, boiler, water heater, range and fireplace among them.
What does the kW number on a generator mean?
It is the maximum continuous output the machine is rated to produce under the manufacturer's specified conditions. A current 22 kW model, for example, is rated 22 kW on liquid propane and 21 kW on natural gas. That difference is exactly why the fuel and the model both matter when a generator is sized.
Why does the generator run when the power is on?
It is performing its automatic exercise cycle, which confirms basic engine operation and keeps the machine ready. A generator can also start because utility voltage has become abnormal even though the power has not gone off completely -- the controller watches the quality of the supply, not simply whether it is absent.