Michael from Keyport, NJ has been a Green Sun Energy Services client since September of 2020. A Generac Guardian rated 20 kW on propane and 18 kW on natural gas went in the following March, running on natural gas behind a 200-amp automatic transfer switch, with 1,500 square feet of living space behind it on the load survey. Twenty kilowatts on fifteen hundred square feet is a deliberate over-provision: the survey found the loads, and the machine was sized to run them at the same time rather than in turn.
Project Facts
- Location
- Keyport, NJ
- Services
- Standby Generator Installation, Standby Generator Service
- Client since
- September 2020
- Manufacturer
- Generac Model # 7039-1
- Rated output
- 20 kW LP / 18 kW NG
- Fuel
- Natural Gas
- Home sized for
- 1,500 sq ft
- Electrical service
- 200 amp
- Transfer switch
- 200 amp
- Load management
- Managed Whole House
Standby generator questions from Keyport homeowners
Does the transfer switch need flood protection as well as the generator?
Yes. A flood review should cover much more than the generator enclosure. FEMA recommends that a residential standby system consider elevation or protection of the generator, the transfer switch, the normal and emergency panels, the feeders and the control wiring together.
Can the generator stay connected during a pressure test?
The machine has to be protected from test pressures beyond what its fuel controls are built to withstand. The fuel-gas code sets out when appliances are disconnected or isolated for testing, and the plumbing contractor follows both that code and the generator's installation instructions.
What is a standby generator?
A permanently installed automatic backup-power system that supplies electricity to the house when utility power is unavailable. Unlike a portable, it is permanently connected to the home's electrical system through transfer equipment and normally runs on natural gas or liquid propane. When the power fails it starts on its own, carries the connected loads, and hands the house back to the utility once service returns.