Sherry from Scotch Plains, NJ has been a Green Sun Energy Services client since April of 2020. This was a replacement on an existing installation, commissioned in July of 2020: a 10 kW machine on natural gas, feeding an existing indoor ten-circuit transfer switch, with two sump pumps and a refrigerator among the essential loads. The control wire between generator and transfer switch had to be replaced as part of the work, having been run in conduit that was no longer serviceable. That is the detail that separates a straight swap from a proper replacement – the machine is the visible part, but the wiring that tells it when to start is what actually makes it a backup system rather than an ornament. Annual maintenance, a ten-year extended parts-and-labor warranty and monitoring we manage all sit behind it.
Project Facts
- Location
- Scotch Plains, NJ
- Services
- Standby Generator Installation, Standby Generator Service
- Client since
- April 2020
- Manufacturer
- Generac Model # 7171
- Rated output
- 10 kW LP / 9 kW NG
- Fuel
- Natural Gas
- Home sized for
- 300 sq ft
- Electrical service
- 200 amp
- Transfer switch
- 100 amp
- Load management
- Essential Circuits/NEMA-1R (Indoor)
Standby generator questions from Scotch Plains homeowners
What happens when the utility power comes back?
The system detects the return of acceptable utility power and transfers the house back automatically. The generator then runs through a programmed cool-down before shutting off and returning to standby. Nobody has to switch anything back by hand.
Do underground utilities have to be marked before the trench is dug?
Yes. Underground facilities must be addressed through the New Jersey One Call process before the excavation begins, which is what protects buried gas, electric, telecommunications and water lines from being struck.
Can the existing natural-gas service in a Scotch Plains 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.