Charles from Freehold, NJ has been a Green Sun Energy Services client since December of 2017. The 20 kW standby generator at the house was installed by another company in March of 2013, and Charles asked us to take it on nearly five years later. We began with a startup inspection, which is standard on any machine we did not install ourselves, and followed it with a scheduled service completed in April of 2018. The meter read 64.1 hours by then — a machine that had already done a fair amount of work before we ever saw it, which is exactly the case where an inspection first is worth more than going straight to an oil change.
Project Facts
- Location
- Freehold, NJ
- Service
- Standby Generator Service
- Client since
- December 2017
- Manufacturer
- Generac Model # 5875
- Rated output
- 20 kW LP / 18 kW NG
- Transfer switch
- 90 amp
- Load management
- Managed Whole House
Standby generator questions from Freehold homeowners
Can Freehold 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.
What is a standby generator?
A permanently installed automatic backup-power system that supplies electricity to the house when utility power is unavailable. Unlike a portable, it is permanently connected to the home's electrical system through transfer equipment and normally runs on natural gas or liquid propane. When the power fails it starts on its own, carries the connected loads, and hands the house back to the utility once service returns.
Can it start during a brownout when the power is not fully off?
Yes. The controller monitors whether the utility supply is acceptable, not merely whether voltage is present, so it can start while some lights and appliances still appear to be working. That is usually the explanation when a generator runs during severe utility-voltage problems.