Standby Generator Installation and Solar Panel Installation in Farmingdale, NJ | In 2012 and a Generator in 2013

Farmingdale, NJ · Client since July 2012

Lon in Farmingdale has been a Green Sun Energy Services client since July of 2012. The array came first and the standby generator followed the next summer.

37 panels in November 2012

Thirty-seven Canadian Solar 245-watt panels, 9.07 kW in total, on Zep Solar mounting with an Enphase M215 microinverter behind each one and a GE production meter. Estimated first-year production is 10,136 kWh and the utility is JCP&L. It was commissioned on 25 November 2012.

The panel rating is worth pausing on. Thirty-seven panels to reach nine kilowatts is what 2012 looked like; a 245-watt module was a perfectly ordinary product then. A modern panel does 435 watts, so the same nine kilowatts today would take twenty-one panels and rather less roof. That is not an argument against a 2012 array — it has been producing for fourteen seasons and the microinverters report on it panel by panel — but it does explain why older arrays cover so much more roof for the same output.

A 14 kW generator six months later

The standby machine is a Generac 14 kW, model 6052, delivering 13 kW on natural gas, which is what this house runs on, behind a service-rated transfer switch. It was commissioned on 4 June 2013 and was last serviced on 20 March 2026.

Solar first, then the other half

This is the order most households arrive in, and this account shows why the second decision follows the first so often.

Solar was the answer to a question about the electricity bill. It is a good answer, and it does nothing at all about outages — a standard grid-tied array shuts down the moment utility power fails, and it has to, because feeding power into lines that crews are working on would be dangerous. A house with 37 panels on the roof and no generator sits in the same dark as the house next door.

Five months after the array was commissioned, this household signed for the generator. Not because the solar disappointed them, but because it had answered the question it was bought to answer and left a different one standing. Two refrigerators’ worth of food is a good illustration of the second question: nothing about annual production keeps them cold on the third day of a November storm.

"It can be confusing listening to all the companies coming after you to go solar. We chose Green Sun because their installations are the best and because they do not promise anything they cannot deliver. It is easy for people to tell you how much you will save but Green Sun is honest about everything. They have been taking great care of our panels and are very responsive. We are actually making out better than we thought we would. Go Green Sun!!!"

Why Lon chose 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 Enphase microinverters on every panel so each one reports its own output. On this home: a 9.065 kW solar array of 37 Canadian Solar CS6P-245MX-ALL-BLK panels, an EnPhase M215-60-2LL-S22/S23 Micro-Single inverter and the Zep 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 6052 standby generator (14 kW LP / 13 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 5-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 Farmingdale

Green Sun Energy Services has completed 4 featured solar projects, 97 standby generator installations and 105 generator service customers in Farmingdale. Farmingdale, 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 Farmingdale home? Tell us about your project here or call 732-410-7818.

Power it. Protect it. Maintain it.

Questions from Farmingdale homeowners

Standby generatorWhat does remote monitoring actually tell you?

Depending on the generator and the connectivity, remote monitoring can report status, maintenance notifications, alarms, exercise information and operating history. Its real value is that a fault announces itself between service visits, instead of being discovered during the outage it was bought for.

Standby generatorWhy do outages last longer on some Farmingdale streets than others?

Mature tree cover over overhead lines is the usual reason. Limbs coming down in wind, snow or ice take the lines with them, so heavily treed streets tend to see both more frequent outages and longer restoration times than open ones. It is one of the honest arguments for standby power rather than a portable generator.

Standby generatorDoes a 200-amp service need a 200-amp transfer switch?

A transfer switch installed in the service path has to be rated appropriately for the service and the configuration. A 200-amp service commonly uses a 200-amp service-rated switch, but the actual design is confirmed by the electrician rather than assumed from the service size.

SolarIs the roof strong enough to carry solar?

It has to be verified as part of the design rather than assumed. The residential code requires the roof structure to support the loads the array imposes in addition to snow, wind and the rest. The evaluation looks at rafter or truss size, span, spacing, roof material, system weight, snow and wind loads, and where the attachments land.

SolarDoes solar work well in Farmingdale?

Yes. New Jersey receives more than enough annual sunlight for residential photovoltaic systems to produce substantial electricity. Panels run on light rather than heat, so they keep producing through the winter. What varies from house to house is roof orientation, pitch, shading, system size, equipment and local weather.