Charles and Rosemary from Farmingdale, NJ have been Green Sun Energy Services clients since December of 2012, which makes this among the oldest relationships on the site. The generator was commissioned in May of 2013: 14 kW on natural gas, on a whole-house transfer switch, for a 2,171 square foot house. Thirteen years is long enough to stop being a claim and start being evidence. An annual maintenance plan still covers the machine, and the arithmetic is worth stating plainly: a standby generator sits idle for almost the whole of its life, and whether it starts in its thirteenth year is decided entirely by what was done in the twelve before.
Project Facts
- Location
- Farmingdale, NJ
- Services
- Standby Generator Installation, Standby Generator Service
- Client since
- December 2012
- Manufacturer
- Generac Model # 6052
- Rated output
- 14 kW LP / 13 kW NG
- Fuel
- Natural Gas
- Home sized for
- 2,171 sq ft
- Transfer switch
- 0 amp
- Load management
- Managed Whole House
Could not have went better.
Green Sun Energy Services replied
Thank you, Charles and Rosemary. The 14 kW generator at the house in Farmingdale went in back in 2013 and has been serviced on schedule ever since, long enough that we think of it as a relationship rather than an installation. Glad the job itself went as smoothly as the years that followed it.
Standby generator questions from Farmingdale homeowners
How far from the property line does a generator need to be in Farmingdale?
There is no single statewide New Jersey property-line setback for a residential generator. Setbacks are set by the municipality's zoning ordinance, so the requirement is a Farmingdale question rather than a general one. A generator can meet every manufacturer clearance and still breach a side-yard or rear-yard setback, which is why the zoning review happens before the location is fixed.
Does a generator produce less on natural gas than on propane?
Some models do have a lower rated maximum output on natural gas than on propane -- a current 22 kW machine is rated 22 kW on LP and 21 kW on natural gas. Other models carry their own ratings, so the model-specific specification sheet is what settles it rather than a general rule.
Can the generator run the propane tank right down?
It is a poor outage plan. Propane should be monitored and topped up before the generator runs out. Usable capacity is not the same as the tank's nominal water capacity, and cold weather reduces how much vapour the tank can deliver just when the machine is working hardest.