Ana in Matawan has been a Green Sun Energy Services client since October of 2019. She signed for the standby generator and the solar array on the same day, and the two were commissioned forty-eight hours apart that December.
A 16 kW machine on 16 December
The machine is a Generac 16 kW, model 70371, rated 16 kW on natural gas and on propane alike, and this house runs on natural gas. It stands outdoors beside the meter behind a 200-amp service-rated transfer switch.
The house is 2,550 square feet and its electrical calculation comes to 16,516 watts. A 4,000-watt air conditioning load is managed while the generator runs, leaving 12,516 watts to carry — inside the machine’s rating with useful room above it, and well clear of the 13 kW the code calculation asks for as a minimum.
What stays live throughout: two refrigerators, the dishwasher, the garbage disposal, the microwave, the washer, the gas dryer, both garage door openers, and a gas furnace that burns gas but still needs power to run its blower.
19 panels on 18 December
The array is nineteen LG 350-watt panels, 6.65 kW in total, on Ecolibrium mounting with a SolarEdge SE5000H inverter and an optimizer on every panel. Estimated first-year production is 8,818 kWh and the utility is JCP&L.
Nothing to remember
The point of an automatic standby generator is contained in the word automatic, and it is easy to undersell.
The machine watches the utility supply continuously. When it fails, the transfer switch disconnects the house from the grid, the engine starts, and power is restored to the panel in a matter of seconds — with nobody home, at four in the morning, in February. It exercises itself weekly on its own schedule so that the first time it runs under load is not the first time it has run in a year. When the utility returns, it transfers back and shuts down without being asked.
None of that requires the household to have watched a forecast, moved a car, fetched fuel, run a cord through a window, or been in the state. That is the difference between backup power that exists and backup power that works, and it is why a permanent installation is a different proposition from a portable one rather than a more expensive version of it.
The array, meanwhile, does nothing during any of this — a grid-tied system shuts down the moment the utility fails and must, so that it cannot energise a line a crew is working on. Two systems bought on one day, doing two entirely separate jobs ever since.
The generator was last serviced on 3 November 2025.
Why Matawan homeowners choose Green Sun Energy Services
More than solar panels: a professionally managed energy system, from design and permitting through installation, inspection, activation and ongoing support.
Complete backup power, from sizing and installation to the service that keeps it ready.
What makes Green Sun Energy Services different
- Solar: design and installation supervised by a NABCEP-certified professional (#PVA-111016-016148), with SolarEdge optimizers on every panel so each one reports its own output. On this home: a 6.65 kW solar array of 19 LG 350N1C-V5 panels, a SolarEdge SE5000H-US000NNC2 inverter and the Ecolibrium Solar mounting system.
- Standby generators: installed and serviced as a Generac Authorized Sales and Service Dealer, by factory-authorized Generac technicians. On this home: a Generac 70371 standby generator (16 kW LP / 16 kW NG) running on natural gas, on a 200-amp transfer switch (managed whole house) and serviced by Green Sun Energy Services.
- Warranty: backed by a 15-year solar workmanship warranty and a 5-year generator workmanship warranty.
- Local: locally owned and operated in New Jersey since 2010, NJHIC licensed (#13VH06229000), with 138 completed solar projects and 441 completed standby generator projects across Monmouth County and 360 solar projects and 618 standby generator projects throughout New Jersey.
Our work in Matawan
Green Sun Energy Services has completed 5 featured solar projects, 9 standby generator installations and 16 generator service customers in Matawan. Matawan, a borough in Monmouth County, is served by JCP&L.
Generate electricity on your roof and use it to help power your vehicle.
Thinking about solar, a standby generator, or both for your Matawan home? Tell us about your project here or call 732-410-7818.
Power it. Protect it. Maintain it.
Project Facts
- Location
- Matawan, NJ
- Services
- Solar Panel Installation, Standby Generator Installation, Standby Generator Service
- Client since
- October 2019
Solar
- Manufacturer & model
- LG 350N1C-V5
- Panels
- 19
- System size
- 6.65 kW
- Inverter
- SolarEdge SE5000H-US000NNC2
- Mounting system
- Ecolibrium Solar
- Estimated first-year production
- 8,818 kWh
- Share of the home's electricity
- 99%
- Electric utility
- JCP&L
- Workmanship warranty
- 15 years
Standby generator
- Manufacturer & model
- Generac 70371
- Rated output
- 16 kW LP / 16 kW NG
- Fuel
- Natural Gas
- Home sized for
- 2,550 sq ft
- Electrical service
- 200 amp
- Transfer switch
- 200 amp
- Load management
- Managed Whole House
- Workmanship warranty
- 5 years
Questions from Matawan homeowners
SolarCan the utility turn a solar system down?
Yes -- approval is not automatic. A system can need modification or further review because of its size, transformer limitations, the condition of the circuit, protection requirements, the service configuration or the grid's hosting capacity.
SolarWho maintains a leased solar system?
The third-party owner generally takes on significant equipment-maintenance responsibility under a lease or power purchase agreement, but the actual obligations come from the contract. Worth checking specifically: inverter failure, panel failure, monitoring, labor, roof removal, animal damage, storm damage and production shortfalls.
Standby generatorWhat happens if we add a heat pump, a pool or an EV charger later?
Any major new electrical load should prompt a review of the generator's capacity. A machine sized correctly at installation may no longer be adequate once substantial loads are added. Load management can often accommodate the new equipment without replacing the generator.
Standby generatorHow far from the property line does a generator need to be in Matawan?
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 Matawan 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.
Standby generatorDoes the generator need its own gas shutoff?
The fuel installation has to include the shutoff arrangements required by the adopted fuel-gas code and by the installation instructions. The valve must be positioned where it is accessible, both for servicing and for isolating the machine in an emergency.