Cindy from Middletown, NJ has been a Green Sun Energy Services client since September of 2020. The generator was commissioned in May of 2021: 16 kW on natural gas, on a 200-amp service-entrance switch with a smart management module, sized against a 15 kW calculation for the 1,900 square foot house. The module was specified for a particular job: a 240-volt wall air conditioner, the sort of unit that draws hard the moment its compressor starts and is easy to forget when a house is being surveyed. Naming the load the module is there to manage is worth doing at the survey – it is the difference between a generator that copes and one that trips at the worst possible moment. The five-year maintenance plan ran its full term and has since expired.
Project Facts
- Location
- Middletown, NJ
- Services
- Standby Generator Installation, Standby Generator Service
- Client since
- September 2020
- Manufacturer
- Generac Model # 7178
- Rated output
- 16 kW LP / 16 kW NG
- Fuel
- Natural Gas
- Home sized for
- 1,900 sq ft
- Electrical service
- 200 amp
- Transfer switch
- 200 amp
- Load management
- Managed Whole House
Standby generator questions from Middletown homeowners
How far does a generator have to be from a window or door?
Manufacturer guidance requires substantial separation from operable windows, doors, vents and other openings through which exhaust could enter the house -- commonly five feet for the applicable air-cooled configurations. The exact model's current installation manual has to be checked before a location is approved.
Which fuel-gas code applies?
New Jersey currently adopts the 2024 International Fuel Gas Code as its Fuel Gas Subcode, which is what governs the piping, testing and shutoff arrangements on a natural-gas generator installation.
Will a 16 kW generator run an entire Middletown house?
For many homes, yes, but that does not mean every load can run at the same moment. Houses with two central air conditioners, electric heat, EV charging, pool equipment or electric cooking may need load management or a larger machine. The answer comes from a load calculation rather than from the phrase whole house.