Bernie from Middletown, NJ has been a Green Sun Energy Services client since September of 2021. The generator was commissioned in April of 2022, feeding a GenReady load center – a panel that replaces the main service panel outright rather than sitting alongside it, so the transfer switch and the breakers are one unit. The load calculation asked for 17 kW across the 2,600 square foot house, with an electric dryer and a double electric oven doing most of the work in that figure. Three conditions were agreed in advance: shelves out of the garage, the front and back walls cleared, and a shrub removed from in front of the garage. Replacing a service panel is a bigger intervention than adding a transfer switch beside one, and the electrician needs room to work on both sides of it.
Project Facts
- Location
- Middletown, NJ
- Service
- Standby Generator Installation
- Client since
- September 2021
- Manufacturer
- Generac Model # 7042-2
- Rated output
- 22 kW LP / 19.5 kW NG
- Fuel
- Natural Gas
- Home sized for
- 2,600 sq ft
- Electrical service
- 200 amp
- Transfer switch
- 200 amp
- Load management
- GenReady
Standby generator questions from Middletown homeowners
Can it start during a brownout when the power is not fully off?
Yes. The controller monitors whether the utility supply is acceptable, not merely whether voltage is present, so it can start while some lights and appliances still appear to be working. That is usually the explanation when a generator runs during severe utility-voltage problems.
Can the generator go in the back yard?
Yes, provided the location complies with the installation instructions and the applicable state and municipal requirements. A distant back-yard position lengthens the electrical and gas runs, which can call for larger conductors or larger gas piping and can raise the cost of the installation.
Does the residential building code apply to a generator?
It can. For applicable one- and two-family dwellings New Jersey adopts the 2024 International Residential Code, subject to state amendments. Structural and flood-related generator installations may therefore need review under the residential subcode as well as the electrical and fuel requirements.