whole house generator installer

[simps80]

the recent 4 day debacle with xcel’s psps has me considering a whole home generator- guessing something in the range of 20kw to 26 kw running off natural gas from the house feed…

does anyone have much experience with these and most importantly a recommendation for a reputable installer?

i have done a little research and feel like kohler or generac dual fuel seems to be the right choice…?

 

[ScaldedDog]

We have a Generac at our place in FL, and it has been good to have. Not as good as a battery setup, that would involve zero downtime at switchover, but I just keep our network stuff on a UPS so it stays up during the minute it takes to switch. Ours runs on NG, too.

Obviously no installer recomendations, but I'll be watching this thread. I've thought about one for CO.

Mark

 

[Curly]

Call around for quotes, and don’t be shy about letting them know you’re getting multiples.
If your generator doesn’t come with an automatic transfer switch (ATS), source one on your own to save money.
It’s not overly technical, and will require de-energizing power to your house for a small while to correctly wire the ATS, unless your electrician is comfortable with hot work.
While you might find an installer who isn’t a licensed electrician, my opinion as a licensed commercial electrician is to use a licensed individual because you have recourse in the case of improper installation.
Good luck!

 

[simps80]

thanks Curly!
do you do side jobs? (edit)

i am confused by who taps the natural gas from the house to the generator

it seems like an electrician and a plumber would be required

 

[Curly]

t seems like an electrician and a plumber would be required

100% correct

 

[60wag]

I’m in the market as well. My 7kw Firman generator from Costco got quite the workout over the last 4 days. I’ve got a manual transfer switch and have to haul the generator out of the garage and hook it up to run it. I was out of town on a business trip Wednesday when the power was cut off. My wife was bummed that she would have to wait until late Thursday for me to get it running. It made a huge difference once it was running even though less than quarter of the house is on that sub panel. It is 240v so it does run the well. It’s also tri fuel, I started it on gasoline and was able to switch over to natural gas for most of the run. Events like these make you appreciate how reliable the power usually is.

 

[FJCDan]

Mike, I work at Lowe’s and we have an installer for Generac generators. I can put in a lead for a free consultation and quote. If you should decide to buy I get credit for the sale which helps me out. All I need is name, address ,phone and email and I can get you set up. LMK Dan. I have sold a whole bunch of portable generators the past couple of days.