Bob from Farmingdale, NJ has been a Green Sun Energy Services client since October of 2017. The 20 kW standby generator at the house was installed by another company in December of 2016, and Bob and Carolyn brought its servicing to us the following year, adding an extended parts-and-labor warranty at the same time. The one-year check came first, then the two-year service in October of 2018 with 59 hours on the meter — a fair amount of running for a machine less than two years old, and a reminder that a generator earns its keep in the years nobody remembers. The switch is a managed whole-house type, so nothing in the house is left on utility power once it starts. Farmingdale is in Monmouth County.
Project Facts
- Location
- Farmingdale, NJ
- Service
- Standby Generator Service
- Client since
- October 2017
- Manufacturer
- Generac Model # 6729
- Rated output
- 20 kW LP / 18 kW NG
- Electrical service
- 200 amp
- Transfer switch
- 90 amp
- Load management
- Managed Whole House
Standby generator questions from Farmingdale homeowners
What size standby generator does a Farmingdale home need?
The correct size is decided by the electrical loads the generator is expected to run, not by the square footage of the house. Central air, heat pumps, electric heat, well and sump pumps, refrigerators and freezers, electric ranges and dryers, pool equipment and EV chargers all count. Where a load is connected automatically, the generator either has the capacity for it or an approved load-management system controls it.
Does the clearance apply to a fixed window as well as one that opens?
A permanently fixed pane may be treated differently from an operable window, because the concern in the placement guidance is exhaust and carbon monoxide entering the building. Even so, the installer has to evaluate the exact model's manual and everything nearby -- operable windows, doors, vents, fresh-air intakes, window wells and mechanical openings. A fixed window should never simply be assumed acceptable.
How level does a generator have to be?
Within the leveling tolerance specified in its installation manual -- applicable air-cooled instructions have used roughly a half-inch overall. A poorly prepared base can settle after installation and bring on drainage, vibration or enclosure problems that were not there on the day it went in.