Bradley from Locust, NJ has been a Green Sun Energy Services client since June of 2020. The generator was installed by another company and commissioned at the end of 2012, and the servicing came to us seven and a half years later. Scheduled maintenance followed in three consecutive springs – June of 2020, May of 2021 and April of 2022. Each one moved a little earlier in the year, which is the right direction to drift: a machine seen in April is ready for the summer storms, where one seen in June has already been through two months of the season it is meant to cover.
Project Facts
- Location
- Locust, NJ
- Service
- Standby Generator Service
- Client since
- June 2020
- Manufacturer
- Generac Model # 5885
- Rated output
- 17 kW LP / 16 kW NG
- Fuel
- Natural Gas
- Transfer switch
- 65 amp
- Load management
- Managed Whole House
Standby generator questions from Locust homeowners
What should a Locust homeowner look for in a generator installer?
A contractor who can design, permit, install, commission, maintain and repair the whole system rather than one who sells the machine. That means generator sizing and transfer equipment, disconnect and shutdown requirements, grounding and bonding, the manufacturer's own installation requirements, gas or propane capacity and pressure, the model-specific clearances, the municipal zoning setbacks, windows and vents and carbon-monoxide entry points, flood requirements where they apply, permits and inspections, utility coordination, load management, commissioning, warranty registration, monitoring and long-term service. The lowest proposal is not necessarily the lowest cost over the life of the system.
What does a whole-house generator actually mean?
Whole-house generally means the transfer equipment serves the home's main electrical system rather than a small emergency-circuit panel. It does not promise unlimited capacity. High-demand appliances may still be prioritized or briefly shed while generator capacity is being used elsewhere.
How level does a generator have to be?
Within the leveling tolerance specified in its installation manual -- applicable air-cooled instructions have used roughly a half-inch overall. A poorly prepared base can settle after installation and bring on drainage, vibration or enclosure problems that were not there on the day it went in.