Kevin from Lincroft, NJ has been a Green Sun Energy Services client since August of 2021. The Generac 5870 at the house is an 8 kW machine on natural gas, feeding a 35-amp transfer switch, and it was installed in December of 2012. Green Sun serviced it in September of 2021 and again in September of 2022. Eight kilowatts behind a 35-amp switch is an essential-circuits installation and always was – a handful of chosen circuits, sized so the machine can hold them without argument. That kind of setup is honest about what it does, and on a machine of this age the annual visit is what keeps it doing it.
Project Facts
- Location
- Lincroft, NJ
- Service
- Standby Generator Service
- Client since
- August 2021
- Manufacturer
- Generac Model # 5870
- Rated output
- 8 kW LP / 7 kW NG
- Fuel
- Natural Gas
- Transfer switch
- 35 amp
- Load management
- Dedicated (Essential) Circuits
Standby generator questions from Lincroft homeowners
What size standby generator does a Lincroft home need?
The correct size is decided by the electrical loads the generator is expected to run, not by the square footage of the house. Central air, heat pumps, electric heat, well and sump pumps, refrigerators and freezers, electric ranges and dryers, pool equipment and EV chargers all count. Where a load is connected automatically, the generator either has the capacity for it or an approved load-management system controls it.
Can the generator stay connected during a pressure test?
The machine has to be protected from test pressures beyond what its fuel controls are built to withstand. The fuel-gas code sets out when appliances are disconnected or isolated for testing, and the plumbing contractor follows both that code and the generator's installation instructions.
How much propane does a generator use?
It depends on the model and on the electrical load. For a current 22 kW machine the published figures are roughly 2.45 gallons of LP an hour at half load, and about 135 cubic feet of LP vapour an hour at full load. Real consumption moves with what the house is actually drawing.