Solar, EV Charger and Generator Service in Red Bank, NJ | 27 Panels, a Charger and a Takeover

Red Bank, NJ · Client since April 2023

Johanna from Red Bank, NJ has been a Green Sun Energy Services client since April of 2023. The solar and the charger were ordered within days of each other in the summer of 2023, and the servicing of the generator already at the house moved to Green Sun the following year.

11.34 kW of solar

Twenty-seven REC panels went up in October of 2023, 11.34 kW in total on Snap-N-Rack mounting, with a first-year production estimate of 14,283 kWh. A hundred and ninety-six feet of critter guard was fitted around the array on the same visit, which keeps squirrels and nesting birds out of the gap beneath the panels.

A ChargePoint charger

The charger went in at the end of September of 2023, a week before the panels, on a dedicated 60-amp circuit with a J1772 connector and an estimated 36 miles of range added for every hour of charging. It is a plug-in unit on a NEMA 6-50 outlet rather than a hardwired one, which is the arrangement that lets a charger move house with the car.

The generator

The Generac at the house was installed by another company and is rated 22 kW on propane and 19.5 kW on natural gas, switched by a 100-amp automatic transfer switch. Its servicing moved to Green Sun in August of 2024, so the annual maintenance now runs alongside everything else on the property.

Charging on your own roof

A car is the largest load most houses ever add, and adding one to a house that already generates is what makes the array do more than offset the rest of the house. Sized together, the panels and the charger were specified knowing the car was coming rather than being fitted around it afterwards — and on the days the sun is out, a good share of the charging comes off the roof rather than the grid.

Questions from Red Bank homeowners

Standby generatorDoes a house with a generator still need surge protection?

Yes. A generator protects against the loss of utility power; it does nothing about a surge. Current electrical code includes surge protection for applicable dwelling services, so whole-house surge protection belongs in a properly designed generator installation rather than being treated as an extra.

EV chargingWill I need a panel upgrade for an EV charger?

Not always. Many homes have enough calculated capacity, even if the panel looks full. A proper load calculation, breaker-space review, service rating, and existing load assessment should be done before assuming an expensive service upgrade is necessary.

SolarCan panels be added to the array later?

Yes, but an expansion is more than bolting on modules. It can affect the utility interconnection, net-metering eligibility, inverter capacity, the electrical calculations, permits, incentive eligibility and monitoring. Incentive rules matter particularly when panels are added to a system already receiving a generation incentive.

SolarShould trees be cut down before installing solar?

Only where the production benefit justifies it and doing so is legally and environmentally appropriate. A good installer quantifies what a particular tree costs in production rather than recommending removal as a matter of course. Ownership of the tree, municipal tree ordinances, neighbors' trees and regrowth all come into it.