Most people ask for a generator that runs the whole house and then discover what that costs. The useful question is which circuits you actually need during an outage, because sizing for those rather than everything changes the number substantially.
sized against the circuits you name, not the whole panel
transfer switch type explained before it is chosen
permit and inspection included
Sizing
A whole-house standby generator is a choice, not a requirement
A unit sized to carry everything at once is the most expensive version of this and often not the one people want once they see both numbers.
Refrigeration, heating controls, a well pump, some lighting and a couple of outlets covers most of what an outage actually costs you, and a partial power outage covers the case where the loss is yours rather than the whole street.
That is an essential-circuits arrangement, and it is sized from a list you write rather than from the panel schedule.
Where the house has an older service, sizing has to account for that too, and sometimes an electrical panel upgrade or a subpanel for the backed-up circuits is part of the scope rather than a separate discovery. The load calculation covers both at once.
New install
How it runs
A standby generator install in Buffalo, four steps
Write the circuit list
What you actually need during an outage. This list, rather than the panel schedule, is what sizes the unit.
Choose the switch honestly
Automatic where nobody may be home, manual or interlock where somebody always is and cost matters.
Set, connect and land
Unit set, transfer switch fitted beside the panel, and the backed-up circuits moved to it and labelled.
Test under real load
Run with the supply cut rather than simulated, so you find out now instead of during the first outage.
The transfer switch
Standby generator installation needs a transfer switch
A transfer switch physically prevents the generator and the incoming supply from ever being connected at once. Without one, a generator can push power back down the service, which is how line workers get hurt, and it is the reason this is permitted work everywhere.
Which one suits you is a genuine question rather than an upsell. A household away for long periods wants automatic. A household that is always home and wants to keep the cost down often does not, and we will say so. Where the panel is full, the backed-up circuits may need their own subpanel to land in.
The whole installation is permitted and inspected, and permits and certificates covers what that produces. It is also worth adding surge protection at the same time, because switching events are exactly when surges happen.
$7,000 to $20,000 and above fully installed, with a 14 to 16 kilowatt unit and an automatic switch at $12,300 to $21,400. Example ranges until we know the circuit list and the site.
Rarely. Refrigeration, heating controls, a pump and some lighting covers most of what an outage actually costs, and sizing for that instead changes the price substantially.
It makes it physically impossible for the generator and the incoming supply to be connected at once. Without one a generator can push power back down the service, which is how line workers get hurt.
Automatic if the house may be empty during an outage. Manual or an interlock if somebody is always there and cost matters, and we will say so rather than defaulting to the expensive one.
Yes, everywhere, precisely because of the back-feed risk. We file it and book the inspection, and the certificate comes to you.
More than most people allow for. There are clearances from windows, doors and the property line, and the gas and electrical connections both need access. We site it before you buy it.
