Ashley from Mountainside, NJ has been a Green Sun Energy Services client since November of 2019. The generator was commissioned in February of 2020: a 20 kW machine on natural gas, on a 200-amp whole-house transfer switch. The load calculation asked for 16 kW across 4,902 square feet, with a sump pump, two refrigerators, a washer, a gas dryer and a dishwasher to carry. Whole-house coverage on a property this size is the decision worth noting – at nearly five thousand square feet it would have been straightforward to nominate a handful of essential circuits and leave the rest dark, and the choice here was to keep everything running instead. An annual maintenance visit keeps the machine serviced.
Project Facts
- Location
- Mountainside, NJ
- Service
- Standby Generator Installation
- Client since
- November 2019
- Manufacturer
- Generac Model # 7039-1
- Rated output
- 20 kW LP / 18 kW NG
- Fuel
- Natural Gas
- Home sized for
- 4,902 sq ft
- Electrical service
- 200 amp
- Transfer switch
- 200 amp
- Load management
- Managed Whole House
Standby generator questions from Mountainside homeowners
Can Mountainside require a generator to sit farther from the house than the manufacturer does?
Yes. Another applicable requirement can result in greater separation than the manufacturer's listed minimum -- equipment may be permitted eighteen inches from a qualifying wall while the local ordinance requires several feet from a property line. Both requirements have to be satisfied; neither cancels the other.
Will a larger gas meter be needed?
Possibly. A generator can significantly increase a home's maximum gas demand. If the existing meter or service cannot hold the required pressure while supplying the generator and the other appliances together, the gas utility may require an upgrade.
What does a standby generator sit on?
A stable, level support system allowed by the model's installation instructions. Depending on the machine and the site that can be an approved composite base, a prepared aggregate base, a concrete pad, or an engineered elevated platform.