22 kW Generac standby generator in Leonardo, NJ by Green Sun Energy Services.
Nelson from Leonardo, NJ has been a Green Sun Energy Services client since February of 2022, and has come back twice since – once for the roofline and once for the siding.
A 19.5 kW Generac on a managed whole-house switch
Commissioned on 14 July 2022. The load calculation asked for a minimum of 15 kW under NEC Article 220 Part IV, and a Generac Guardian rated 19.5 kW on natural gas went in – 22 kW were it running on propane – behind a 200-amp managed whole-house transfer switch with two smart management modules and whole-house surge protection. The house is 2,897 square feet with a refrigerator, a dishwasher, a washer, a gas dryer and a sump pump. It sits on our top service plan: annual maintenance, extended parts-and-labor cover and remote monitoring that Green Sun runs directly, so a fault announces itself instead of being discovered during the next storm.
240 warm white C9 bulbs
December of 2024. Two hundred and forty warm white C9 bulbs along the roofline – the large traditional bulb at 2700K, which is the warm end of white and reads as light rather than as decoration. Put up by us and taken down by us after the season, which is the half of the job people forget when they buy a box of lights: the January take-down is the one involving a ladder, cold gutters and nobody volunteering.
5,542 square feet of soft washing
May of 2026. Soft washing is low pressure and a cleaning solution rather than a pressure washer, which is what lifts algae and mildew off siding without driving water in behind it. At 5,542 square feet of surface this is a substantial exterior, and the method matters more the larger the house, not less: a pressure washer does its damage quietly, behind the siding, where nobody finds it until the following winter.
Same roofline, same ladders
The lighting and the soft washing are the same crew’s problem from the same positions. Both are work at height along the eaves and the gutter line, both need the access figured out before anyone starts, and both go badly when they are done by somebody meeting the house for the first time. Having run lights along this roofline in 2024, the crew that arrived to wash it in 2026 already knew its access, its gutter runs and its awkward corners – which counts for more on a 5,542 square foot exterior than on a small one.
Project Facts
- Location
- Leonardo, NJ
- Services
- Christmas Light Installation, Softwash Service, Standby Generator Installation, Standby Generator Service
- Client since
- February 2022
Standby generator
- Manufacturer
- Generac Model # 7042-2
- Rated output
- 22 kW LP / 19.5 kW NG
- Fuel
- Natural Gas
- Home sized for
- 2,897 sq ft
- Electrical service
- 200 amp
- Transfer switch
- 200 amp
- Load management
- Managed Whole House
Exterior cleaning
- Surface cleaned
- 5,542 sq ft
Holiday lighting
- Lights
- LED C9, warm white (2700K), 12-inch spacing
- Bulbs installed
- 240
Questions from Leonardo homeowners
Soft washingWhy is one side of the house greener than the others?
The side that gets least direct sun stays damp longest, and damp is what biological growth needs. Trees, shrubs and neighboring buildings make the effect stronger. It is not a sign that one wall was built differently; it is a sign that one wall dries more slowly than the rest.
Holiday lightingCan arborvitae be wrapped with Christmas lights?
Yes. Arborvitae are particularly well suited to mini light wrapping because of their tall, dense shape. The amount of lighting required depends heavily on height, width, the density level chosen and the brightness you want.
Standby generatorDoes a generator in Leonardo have to sit twelve inches above the flood elevation?
That figure should not be treated as a universal rule without looking at the actual property. The required elevation can depend on the flood-zone designation, the municipal freeboard, the Design Flood Elevation, Coastal A or V Zone conditions, NJDEP requirements and the applicable building-code provisions. Each flood-zone installation is worked out individually.
Holiday lightingCan Christmas light plugs sit on the ground?
Installers should minimize situations where electrical connections rest in wet soil, mulch, snow or standing water. Connections should be arranged according to the equipment instructions and appropriate outdoor use practices.