Standby Generator Installation and Solar Panel Installation in Keyport, NJ | Conduit Across Three Roof Faces

Keyport, NJ · Client since February 2019

Monessa in Keyport has been a Green Sun Energy Services client since February of 2019. The array went up that April and the standby generator followed in September of the following year.

25 panels across three faces

Twenty-five Hanwha Q.PEAK DUO 325-watt panels, 8.13 kW in total, split three ways: fourteen on the right roof face, eight on the left and three on the front. A SolarEdge SE6000H inverter with an optimizer on every panel, on Ecolibrium mounting. Estimated first-year production is 8,632 kWh and the utility is JCP&L. It was commissioned on 19 April 2019.

Splitting an array three ways has a consequence that is easy to leave out of a proposal, so it was put in writing before the work started: conduit has to run across the roof between the array sections, and then over the gutter to reach the electric meter. There is no arrangement in which three separate groups of panels connect to one inverter invisibly.

That is the honest trade on a house this size. Eight kilowatts on an 800 square foot footprint means using every usable face, and using every usable face means visible conduit. A household that knows this in advance is making a choice; one that discovers it on the day is receiving a surprise.

A 13 kW machine on 100 amps

The generator is a Generac 13 kW, model 7173, rated 13 kW on natural gas and on propane alike, behind a 100-amp service-rated transfer switch matched to the service. It was commissioned on 17 September 2020 and was last serviced on 7 April 2026.

The electrical calculation comes to 17,608 watts, which is a great deal for 800 square feet and is explained by two appliances rather than by the house: an electric dryer and the air conditioning. Both are on the managed list, and between them they take 5,000 watts off the top, leaving 12,608 watts for the machine to hold.

What the panels do not do

There is one misunderstanding about rooftop solar that comes up more than all the others together, and it is worth stating plainly on a page like this one, where a household has both systems.

A standard grid-tied array does not power the house during a blackout. When the utility supply fails, the inverter disconnects and the panels stop producing — in bright sunshine, with the roof full of equipment that is working perfectly. This is not a fault or a limitation somebody failed to mention. It is a safety requirement: an array that kept feeding the wiring would also feed the service drop, and the line crew restoring the street has every right to expect that wire to be dead.

Sixteen months after the array went up, this household added the thing that does work in an outage. The two systems have never overlapped in function and never will — one reduces what is bought from the grid across a year, the other supplies the house when there is no grid to buy from.

Why Keyport 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: an 8.125 kW solar array of 25 Hanwha Q.PEAK DUO-G5.325 panels, a SolarEdge SE6000H-US000NNC2 inverter, the Ecolibrium Solar mounting system and 228 ft of critter guard.
  • Standby generators: installed and serviced as a Generac Authorized Sales and Service Dealer, by factory-authorized Generac technicians. On this home: a Generac 7173 standby generator (13 kW LP / 13 kW NG) running on natural gas, on a 100-amp transfer switch (managed whole house) and serviced by Green Sun Energy Services.
  • Warranty: backed by a 10-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 139 completed solar projects and 447 completed standby generator projects across Monmouth County and 362 solar projects and 624 standby generator projects throughout New Jersey.

Our work in Keyport

Green Sun Energy Services has completed 3 featured solar projects, 4 standby generator installations and 5 generator service customers in Keyport. Keyport, a borough on Raritan Bay 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 Keyport home? Tell us about your project here or call 732-410-7818.

Power it. Protect it. Maintain it.

Project Facts

Location
Keyport, NJ
Services
Solar Critter Guard, Solar Panel Installation, Standby Generator Installation, Standby Generator Service
Client since
February 2019

Solar

Manufacturer & model
Hanwha Q.PEAK DUO-G5.325
Panels
25
System size
8.13 kW
Inverter
SolarEdge SE6000H-US000NNC2
Mounting system
Ecolibrium Solar
Estimated first-year production
8,632 kWh
Electric utility
JCP&L
Critter guard fitted
228 ft
Workmanship warranty
10 years

Standby generator

Manufacturer & model
Generac 7173
Rated output
13 kW LP / 13 kW NG
Fuel
Natural Gas
Home sized for
800 sq ft
Electrical service
100 amp
Transfer switch
100 amp
Load management
Managed Whole House
Workmanship warranty
5 years

Questions from Keyport homeowners

Standby generatorCan Keyport require a generator to sit farther from the house than the manufacturer does?

Yes. Another applicable requirement can result in greater separation than the manufacturer's listed minimum -- equipment may be permitted eighteen inches from a qualifying wall while the local ordinance requires several feet from a property line. Both requirements have to be satisfied; neither cancels the other.

Standby generatorShould gas pressure be checked while the generator is running?

Yes. Operating pressure means more than a static reading taken with the generator off. The fuel system has to hold adequate pressure while the generator runs and other appliances may also be drawing gas. That matters most when an existing residential service is being reused.

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.

SolarWho receives the certificates on a purchased system?

A homeowner who owns a qualifying registered system can generally own the associated certificate rights, unless those rights have been assigned or sold under another agreement. The purchase contract and the programme registration documents should make that unambiguous.

SolarWhat is the difference between kW and kWh?

kW measures the size of the system; kWh measures the electricity it produces or the house consumes over time. An 11.5 kW array might be estimated at 13,100 kWh in its first year. Confusing the two makes proposals look larger or smaller than they are.

Scroll to Top