Jean from Middletown, NJ has been a Green Sun Energy Services client since September of 2020. The generator was commissioned in May of 2021: 20 kW on natural gas, on a 150-amp service-entrance switch with a smart management module and surge protection, sized against an 18 kW calculation for the 3,200 square foot house. An electric range and oven combination and an electric dryer are what lift the figure that high – electric cooking and electric laundry ask more of a generator in a few minutes than the rest of a house does all day. The 20 kW machine on a 150-amp service is sized for what the house draws rather than for the rating of the service it connects to. Annual maintenance, a ten-year extended parts-and-labor warranty and monitoring we manage all sit behind it.
Project Facts
- Location
- Middletown, NJ
- Services
- Standby Generator Installation, Standby Generator Service
- Client since
- September 2020
- Manufacturer
- Generac Model # 7038-1
- Rated output
- 20 kW LP / 18 kW NG
- Fuel
- Natural Gas
- Home sized for
- 3,200 sq ft
- Electrical service
- 150 amp
- Transfer switch
- 150 amp
- Load management
- Managed Whole House
Standby generator questions from Middletown homeowners
Why do outages last longer on some Middletown streets than others?
Mature tree cover over overhead lines is the usual reason. Limbs coming down in wind, snow or ice take the lines with them, so heavily treed streets tend to see both more frequent outages and longer restoration times than open ones. It is one of the honest arguments for standby power rather than a portable generator.
What is the difference between essential circuits and whole-house backup?
An essential-circuits system transfers a defined set of circuits through a smaller transfer switch rather than the whole electrical service. It is a deliberate design rather than a lesser one: the circuits that matter during an outage are chosen in advance, and the generator only ever has to carry those.
Can a generator be installed on a deck or a roof?
Platform, deck and supporting-structure installations are recognized, but they call for additional review: structural capacity, noncombustible surface requirements, fire clearance, exhaust, airflow, vibration, service access and local requirements all have to be addressed. It is a site-specific installation rather than a routine location.