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SIZES/OPTIONS/PRICES/SPECS
All our home automatic generators are single phase, 60 Hertz (Hz) 120/240 Volts (V), matching your home’s normal utility power. The size (power) of a generator is measured by its rated power output, designated in Watts (W) or in Kilowatts (kW or 1,000W), and is the product of it's amperage (Amp) and it's voltage(V). Home generator sizes vary from 8kW to 100kW and can support selected critical circuits or the entire house load. A frequently asked question is “What size generator do I need for my home?”. The answer to this question is complex as it involves many factors including your requirements (what emergency lighting, appliances, and equipment circuits you want to include), your home’s utility supplier details (the number and size of your electrical panel/s, the energy supply source (Elect/NG/LP/Oil) and size (Btu, pressure, tank size, etc.) of your home’s equipment, the type and specifications of your equipment (size and type of motors, etc.), the layout and size of your home, your electrical usage history, and your budget (how much you want to spend on the system!). There are many popular sizing charts available that allow you to determine on your own the size of the generator you need. While these charts are informative and user friendly, they fail to provide an accurate estimate of the electrical load required. Using these charts, people tend to pick out an outlet in the bedroom, lights in the kitchen, a computer in the study, or a garage door, and just add up the individual wattage of these selections. In fact, what must be added to the wattage calculation is the total load on the entire circuits that contain those selections, which may result in a value for the total required wattage that is several times that of the one computed by a sizing chart. This is because the electrical installation involves the relocation of an entire circuit into the emergency panel and not the individual outlet selected. Our clients who have used these charts are surprised when told that they cannot have a 10kW automatic generator system to back-up their entire home's 200 Amp electrical panel . Theoretically, the generator size needed to support a 200 Amp panel is a 48kW (200 Amp multiplied by 240 V), but that too may be unreasonable from a code/practical/budget perspective. In this example, the final size proposed will usually be somewhere in the middle, maybe a 25kW. This determination can only be made after a thorough on-site technical evaluation of all the items discussed above. As a general guide only, we can suggest allocating 1,000 Watts of generator power for each single pole (120V) 15-20 Amp circuit, and allocating 2,000 watts for every 10 Amp of each double pole (240V) circuit. For example, a 15-20 Amp SP general lighting circuit and a 20 Amp DP well pump require a 5,000 watt (5kW) generator. For practical purposes, we grouped our home automatic generators into three size categories: small (8-13kW), medium (18-35kW) and large (45-100kW) systems.
Small
size generators range from 8-13kW (Specifications
Chart) and represent the large majority of our home generators.
They are air cooled, typically 2 cylinder NG/LP gas fueled engines
that run at 3600 RPM. The generators are located outdoors and
are placed on a polymer pad roughly 2’ by 4’. They
have a heavy gauge metal weatherproof enclosure with lockable
doors and produce a typical noise level between 70-73db at 23
feet (Noise Levels). The generators are
permanently connected to the existing fuel source and come with
a 50-60 Amp Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS), which also houses
the emergency circuits. These systems can support selected critical
circuits that could include two (2) gas or oil furnaces, a hot
water heater fan, a fridge, a freezer, a water well and an ejector
pump, a sump pump, a plug-in microwave, and 5 to 6 15/20 Amp single
pole circuits for general lighting, television, computer, telephone
and security system. These generators come with a 12V car battery
and a battery trickle charge; a battery warmer, and an oil heater
are offered as options for cold weather conditions.
Medium size generators range from 18-35kW (Specifications
Chart) and represent about 25% of our home generators. They
are liquid cooled, 4 cylinder, NG/LP gas fueled engines that run
at 1800 RPM. The generators are located outdoors and are placed
on a concrete pad roughly 3’ by 7’. They have a heavy
gauge metal weatherproof enclosure (standard) with lockable doors
and can be additionally equipped with a custom sound-attenuated
enclosure that reduces the noise level at 23 feet from around
72dB (standard enclosure) to around 56dB (Noise
Levels). The generators are permanently connected to the existing
fuel source and come with a 100 Amp Automatic Transfer Switch
(ATS), and a separate 100 Amp emergency sub-panel that houses
the selected critical emergency circuits. These systems can support
all the circuits included in the small size generators plus a
small (20 Amp) and a medium size (40 Amp) air conditioning units
plus 5 to 7 15/20 Amp single pole circuits. For an all-electric
home, an electric furnace or heat pump (and fireplaces!) may be
substituted for the medium size AC and a water heater may be substituted
for either the well/ejector pumps or 2 general circuits.
Large size generators (a.k.a. whole house generators) range from
45-100kW (Specifications Chart), and
represent about 10% of our home generators. They are liquid cooled,
6-12 cylinder, NG/LP gas fueled engines that run at 1800 RPM.
They are located outdoors and are placed on a concrete pad roughly
4’ by 9’. They have a heavy gauge metal weatherproof
enclosure (standard) with lockable doors and can be additionally
equipped with a custom sound-attenuated enclosure that reduces
the noise level at 23 feet from 78dB (standard enclosure) to 65dB
(Noise Levels). The generators are permanently
connected to the existing fuel source and come with a 200-600
Amp Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS) to support the entire house
load, even for an all-electric home. Specifications Chart:
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