William and Deborah from Farmingdale, NJ have been Green Sun Energy Services clients since August of 2013, which places them among the oldest relationships on the site. The generator was commissioned that December: 14 kW on natural gas, on a 200-amp managed whole-house switch with two priority management modules, for a 2,333 square foot house with an electric oven, a refrigerator, a washer, a gas dryer and a dishwasher. Thirteen years later the machine is still there and still running – which is the whole point of the exercise, and rather longer than most people expect a generator to last. Servicing is arranged as and when rather than on a plan.
Project Facts
- Location
- Farmingdale, NJ
- Service
- Standby Generator Installation
- Client since
- August 2013
- Manufacturer
- Generac Model # 6241
- Rated output
- 14 kW LP / 13 kW NG
- Fuel
- Natural Gas
- Electrical service
- 150 amp
- Transfer switch
- 0 amp
- Load management
- Managed Whole House
Standby generator questions from Farmingdale homeowners
Does a generator keep the well running during an outage in Farmingdale?
Yes, when the well pump is included in the design. A private well pump is electric, so without power there is no running water at all -- a different order of problem from losing the lights. Homes on a well are among the clearest cases for standby power, and the pump belongs on the load list from the start.
How can a whole house be carried on a smaller electrical service?
Through load management. One or more large loads are controlled so they do not start at the same moment, or shut down briefly if generator demand climbs too high. That is what allows whole-house coverage where the raw sum of every connected load would otherwise exceed the machine.
Can the existing natural-gas service in a Farmingdale 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.