Joan from Farmingdale, NJ has been a Green Sun Energy Services client since February of 2014. The generator was commissioned in March: 20 kW on natural gas, on a 200-amp service-entrance switch with two priority management modules. The load calculation asked for 16 kW across 3,000 square feet, with an electric dryer and an electric oven among the appliances. Twelve years later an annual maintenance plan and a ten-year extended parts-and-labor warranty are both still in place. A standby generator spends almost all of its life doing nothing, and the only thing that decides whether it starts in its twelfth year is whether somebody has been maintaining it through the eleven before.
Project Facts
- Location
- Farmingdale, NJ
- Services
- Standby Generator Installation, Standby Generator Service
- Client since
- February 2014
- Manufacturer
- Generac Model # 6244
- Rated output
- 20 kW LP / 18 kW NG
- Fuel
- Natural Gas
- Home sized for
- 3,000 sq ft
- Electrical service
- 200 amp
- Transfer switch
- 200 amp
- Load management
- Managed Whole House
Standby generator questions from Farmingdale homeowners
Can a generator be installed in a flood zone in Farmingdale?
Yes, but the generator and its electrical equipment may need to be elevated or otherwise protected. The installation is evaluated against the property's FEMA flood zone, its Base Flood Elevation and Design Flood Elevation, the municipal flood ordinance, any applicable freeboard, and NJDEP requirements where they apply. It is a property-by-property assessment rather than a rule of thumb.
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.
What does a whole-house generator actually mean?
Whole-house generally means the transfer equipment serves the home's main electrical system rather than a small emergency-circuit panel. It does not promise unlimited capacity. High-demand appliances may still be prioritized or briefly shed while generator capacity is being used elsewhere.