28-panel 6.58 kW solar array in Farmingdale, NJ by Green Sun Energy Services.
Linda in Farmingdale has been a Green Sun Energy Services client since July of 2011, which puts this account in the company’s first year of trading. The array was commissioned that October and the standby generator followed in the spring of 2013.
28 panels, commissioned October 2011
Twenty-eight panels, 6.58 kW in total — 235 watts apiece, which is what a module produced in 2011 — with an Enphase M215 microinverter behind each one. Estimated first-year production is 7,976 kWh and the utility is JCP&L.
The mounting is a Zep system, which is worth a note because it is no longer sold. Zep did away with rails: the panel frame itself carried a groove that the hardware clipped into, so a Zep-compatible module bolted to the one beside it rather than to a rail beneath it. Fewer components, faster installation, and a design that depended on panel manufacturers continuing to make frames that fitted it. They stopped, and the system went with them.
That is not a criticism of the choice made in 2011. It is the reason the microinverters matter more than the mounting: the array on this roof has outlived the mounting standard it was built on, and it is still reporting panel by panel because the electronics were put on the panels rather than in a single box in the garage.
A 17 kW generator in 2013
The machine is a Generac 17 kW, model 6053-0, delivering 16 kW on natural gas, which is what this 1,400 square foot house runs on, behind a service-rated transfer switch. It was commissioned on 1 May 2013 and was last serviced on 18 August 2026.
Equipment that has to outlast the sale
Fifteen years is long enough for most of the assumptions behind an installation to have expired. The panel wattage on this roof is a third of what a modern module produces. The mounting system is discontinued. The company that made the microinverters has been through several product generations since.
None of that has stopped either system doing its job, and the reason is not that the equipment was exceptional. It is that somebody kept turning up. The generator was serviced ten days before this was written; the array has been monitored since the month it was switched on.
That is the part worth taking from a page like this one. When a household buys solar and standby power, they are not really buying panels and an engine — those are commodities, and better versions of both will exist within five years. What they are buying is the assumption that in 2041 there will still be somebody who knows what is on this roof, has the history of the machine beside the house, and answers the phone. Most of that is unprovable at the point of sale. This account is one of the few places it can actually be checked.
Deciding to install solar electric to our home was an important decision. However, using Green Sun Energy Services was definitely the right decision. The team of installers were superior workers as well as courteous, professional and efficient. The job was completed in 1 1/2 days, and our electric meter immediately started spinning backwards. The management team of Chris and Glen were most knowledgeable and carefully explained the process and the equipment so that it was easy for the homeowner to understand. We highly recommend Green Sun Energy to get the job done. Do not hesitate to contact them. - Linda A., from Farmingdale, NJ Angie's List
Green Sun Energy Services replied
Thank you, Linda. Solar is a decision people take seriously and should, which is why the installers matter as much as the equipment: they are on your roof and in your yard for days. A 6.58 kW array and a 17 kW standby generator at the same house in Farmingdale is two crews held to one standard.
Why Linda 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 6.58 kW solar array of 28 Canadian Solar CS6P-235PX 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 6053-0 standby generator (17 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 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.
Project Facts
- Location
- Farmingdale, NJ
- Services
- Solar Panel Installation, Standby Generator Installation, Standby Generator Service
- Client since
- July 2011
Solar
- Manufacturer & model
- Canadian Solar CS6P-235PX
- Panels
- 28
- System size
- 6.58 kW
- Inverter
- EnPhase M215-60-2LL-S22/S23 Micro-Single
- Mounting system
- Zep Solar
- Estimated first-year production
- 7,976 kWh
- Electric utility
- JCP&L
- Workmanship warranty
- 5 years
Standby generator
- Manufacturer & model
- Generac 6053-0
- Rated output
- 17 kW LP / 16 kW NG
- Fuel
- Natural Gas
- Home sized for
- 1,400 sq ft
- Electrical service
- 200 amp
- Transfer switch
- 200 amp
- Load management
- Managed Whole House
- Workmanship warranty
- 5 years
Questions from Farmingdale homeowners
SolarDoes Farmingdale decide whether the installation is code-compliant?
The municipal construction department reviews and inspects the work under the Uniform Construction Code, but the substantive electrical requirements come from the statewide Electrical Subcode rather than from local preference. Municipalities may also administer zoning requirements where those apply.
SolarWhich utility handles interconnection in Farmingdale?
The electric distribution company that serves the property. In New Jersey that is Jersey Central Power & Light, PSE&G, Atlantic City Electric or Rockland Electric depending on the address, and municipal electric systems can have their own requirements.
Standby generatorDoes 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.
Standby generatorCan a standby generator backfeed the utility lines?
A properly installed and functioning automatic transfer system is designed to prevent it. That is the point of the transfer switch: it stops generator power reaching the utility supply, where it could endanger line workers and damage equipment. Backfeeding is a risk of improvised connections, not of a correctly installed system.
Standby generatorCan the existing natural-gas service in a Farmingdale 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.