Tom from Highlands, NJ has been a Green Sun Energy Services client since June of 2020. His 20 kW Generac has been on our PowerBase Silver plan ever since, which is long enough to say something useful: the units that get serviced are the ones still starting. Silver covers the maintenance rather than the repairs, and the point of it is that repairs stay rare. Highlands sits low against the Navesink, and the power there goes out for reasons that have nothing to do with the generator. Monmouth County, and on the maintenance schedule ever since.
Project Facts
- Location
- Highlands, NJ
- Service
- Standby Generator Service
- Client since
- June 2020
- Manufacturer
- Generac Model # 6250
- Rated output
- 20 kW LP / 18 kW NG
- Fuel
- Natural Gas
- Transfer switch
- 90 amp
- Load management
- Managed Whole House
John did a great job severing our generation
Green Sun Energy Services replied
Thank you, Tom, and we have passed this to John. The 20 kW Generac at your home in Highlands has been on an annual service plan with us since 2020, so it is inspected, load-tested and tuned every year rather than started once a season and hoped for. Highlands sees its share of weather, and that is precisely why.
Standby generator questions from Highlands homeowners
What size standby generator does a Highlands 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.
Should gas pressure be checked while the generator is running?
Yes. Operating pressure means more than a static reading taken with the generator off. The fuel system has to hold adequate pressure while the generator runs and other appliances may also be drawing gas. That matters most when an existing residential service is being reused.
How far from the property line does a generator need to be in Highlands?
There is no single statewide New Jersey property-line setback for a residential generator. Setbacks are set by the municipality's zoning ordinance, so the requirement is a Highlands question rather than a general one. A generator can meet every manufacturer clearance and still breach a side-yard or rear-yard setback, which is why the zoning review happens before the location is fixed.