Scott from Middletown, NJ has been a Green Sun Energy Services client since January of 2021. This was a replacement rather than a first installation: an existing 20 kW Generac was removed and properly disposed of, and the new machine went in on the same site, commissioned on 10 February. It was sized against a 15 kW calculation for the 2,800 square foot house, with a sump pump, two refrigerators, a washer, a gas dryer and a dishwasher on the load list. A generator that has reached the end of its life is a particular kind of problem: it looks exactly like a working one until the day it is needed, and the only way to know is to have somebody open it. Annual maintenance, an extended parts-and-labor warranty and monitoring we manage all sit behind the new machine.
Project Facts
- Location
- Middletown, NJ
- Services
- Standby Generator Installation, Standby Generator Service
- Client since
- January 2021
- Manufacturer
- Generac Model # 5887
- Rated output
- 20 kW LP / 18 kW NG
- Fuel
- Natural Gas
- Home sized for
- 2,800 sq ft
- Electrical service
- 150 amp
- Transfer switch
- 90 amp
- Load management
- Whole House
Standby generator questions from Middletown homeowners
Can the existing natural-gas service in a Middletown home supply a generator?
Often yes, but the gas system has to be evaluated first. The review covers the generator's BTU demand, meter capacity, available pressure, regulator capacity, pipe diameter and length, and every other gas appliance in the house -- furnace, boiler, water heater, range and fireplace among them.
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.
Does a generator produce less on natural gas than on propane?
Some models do have a lower rated maximum output on natural gas than on propane -- a current 22 kW machine is rated 22 kW on LP and 21 kW on natural gas. Other models carry their own ratings, so the model-specific specification sheet is what settles it rather than a general rule.