Standby Generator Installation and Solar Panel Installation in Princeton, NJ | 34 Panels and a 16 kW Standby

Princeton, NJ · Client since April 2015

Clifford Wilson and Carla Dupont have been Green Sun Energy Services clients since April of 2015. The standby generator was bought first and running by the end of August. The solar array followed five weeks later.

A 16 kW standby on natural gas

The house is about 2,500 square feet on a 200-amp service. Run through NEC Article 220 Part IV the connected load came to 16,320 watts, of which heating and cooling account for 4,000. Load management sheds that 4,000 while the generator is carrying the house, leaving 12,320 watts for the machine to meet against a 13 kW minimum on natural gas. A 16 kW Generac in a steel enclosure sits on a poured pad behind a 200-amp service-rated transfer switch mounted outdoors beside the meter, with surge protection on the panel. Whole-house rather than essential circuits, so nothing in the house has to be chosen over anything else during an outage. It ran on 19 August 2015 and was last serviced in September 2025.

34 panels and 10.2 kW

Thirty-four LG 300 watt panels came to 10.2 kW on QuickMount flashed mounts, finished on 25 September 2015. Each panel has its own Enphase M250 microinverter rather than sharing a central inverter, so a panel in shade or a panel with a fault takes only itself out of the day’s production. PSE&G is the utility and the first year was designed for about 11,131 kWh.

A PowerBase service contract

With both the generator and the solar array in place, the household added a PowerBase service agreement. Generator maintenance is the core of it: the machine that exists for the night the grid goes down is of little use if it has not been exercised, inspected, and kept in running order. The generator was last serviced in September 2025 under that arrangement.

Three decisions, one house

The generator and the array answer different questions, and it is worth keeping them apart. The array works on ordinary days and changes what the house draws from PSE&G across the year. The generator does nothing on an ordinary day; it exists for the evening the grid goes down, and on that evening the solar is no help at all. The service agreement keeps the generator ready for that evening, year after year. This household bought the first system in the spring of 2015, came back for the second before that year was out, and has kept the generator maintained under contract since.

Facebook: "They are completely professional and easy to work with. Both the generator and solar panels they installed are working great. It’s been more than two years now, and the financial returns on the solar are as projected."
Google: "Prompt, professional, courteous"

Why Clifford 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 10.2 kW solar array of 34 LG 300N1C-G3/35mm panels, an EnPhase M250-60-2LL-S22 Micro-Single inverter and the QuickMount 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 6462 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 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 25 completed solar projects and 13 completed standby generator projects across Mercer County and 361 solar projects and 621 standby generator projects throughout New Jersey.

Our work in Princeton

Green Sun Energy Services has completed 6 featured solar projects, 3 standby generator installations and 7 generator service customers in Princeton. Princeton, a borough in Mercer County, is served by PSE&G.

Generate electricity on your roof and use it to help power your vehicle.

Thinking about solar, a standby generator, or both for your Princeton home? Tell us about your project here or call 732-410-7818.

Power it. Protect it. Maintain it.

Questions from Princeton homeowners

Standby generatorDoes the clearance apply to a fixed window as well as one that opens?

A permanently fixed pane may be treated differently from an operable window, because the concern in the placement guidance is exhaust and carbon monoxide entering the building. Even so, the installer has to evaluate the exact model's manual and everything nearby -- operable windows, doors, vents, fresh-air intakes, window wells and mechanical openings. A fixed window should never simply be assumed acceptable.

Standby generatorWhat happens if the manufacturer and Princeton disagree?

The installation has to satisfy all applicable requirements. A manufacturer's listing cannot be ignored, and a manufacturer's minimum clearance does not cancel a municipal zoning requirement. Where requirements conflict or the interpretation is uncertain, the Authority Having Jurisdiction is consulted before the work goes in rather than after.

SolarAre all mounting systems much the same?

No. They differ substantially in attachment method, waterproofing, rail design, materials, wind rating and installation requirements. Residential systems should use appropriately listed components installed to the manufacturer's instructions, and the residential code requires rooftop mounting and structural systems to satisfy the applicable structural and listing requirements.

SolarDoes Princeton 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.

SolarHow are the roof penetrations waterproofed?

Penetrations have to be flashed and sealed by a method appropriate to the roofing material and the mounting system -- the residential code's solar provisions require it specifically. It is the detail that decides whether an array is a twenty-five-year installation or a future leak.