Bob from Manchester, NJ has been a Green Sun Energy Services client since December of 2012. He and Tina signed that December and the generator was commissioned in April, an 8 kW Generac on a ten-circuit EZ switch covering 600 square feet and a refrigerator. Manchester is a township of quiet residential communities in the Ocean County pines, where the lines run through a great deal of tree cover and a well-sized 8 kW unit is the sensible specification rather than the compromise.
Project Facts
- Location
- Manchester, NJ
- Service
- Standby Generator Installation
- Client since
- December 2012
- Manufacturer
- Generac Model # 5870
- Rated output
- 8 kW LP / 7 kW NG
- Fuel
- Natural Gas
- Home sized for
- 600 sq ft
- Transfer switch
- 100 amp
- Load management
- Dedicated (Essential) Circuits
Standby generator questions from Manchester homeowners
Can a generator be sized from the square footage of the house?
No. Two houses of identical size can have very different electrical requirements depending on heating fuel, how many air conditioners there are, whether there is a well pump, a pool, an EV charger, or electric cooking. A proper design examines the load rather than the floor area.
Can the generator be connected to any nearby gas pipe?
No. The branch supplying the generator has to be sized for the flow and pressure the machine needs. A pipe that happens to be close by may be too small, or may already be carrying too much load. Undersized piping shows up as poor starting, unstable running, reduced output or a generator that shuts down under load.
What should a Manchester homeowner look for in a generator installer?
A contractor who can design, permit, install, commission, maintain and repair the whole system rather than one who sells the machine. That means generator sizing and transfer equipment, disconnect and shutdown requirements, grounding and bonding, the manufacturer's own installation requirements, gas or propane capacity and pressure, the model-specific clearances, the municipal zoning setbacks, windows and vents and carbon-monoxide entry points, flood requirements where they apply, permits and inspections, utility coordination, load management, commissioning, warranty registration, monitoring and long-term service. The lowest proposal is not necessarily the lowest cost over the life of the system.