How Much To Install A Portable Generator Hookup On My Home?

We try to ask this towards the beginning of a conversation in order to make sure we have a good appointment window for your schedule and to also verify that we service your home area.

Whenever you ask us to help we need to know whether you need something repaired, replaced, or do you want to install something new.

Knowing when your home was built lets us know what to expect when repairing or installing electrical projects in your home.

Modern building code started around the 1980’s. Any home built before 1980 tends to have some interesting wiring techniques, and materials that may need to be replaced.

What size portable generator you will need for your home will largely depend on how much electricity your home uses.

A rule of thumb for choosing what size portable generator you need for a home is a knowing that a standard 100 amp electrical utility service should have about a 10,000 watts portable generator, and a 200 amp electrical utility service should have at least a 12,000 watt portable generator or more depending on if the house has electric major home appliances or not.

The larger the number of amps the more power your home will have access to.

The larger the number of amps also becomes more expensive to install.

Weigh the pros and cons of each, and the decision will become easier to decide.

Reason 1: Fuse boxes are not allowed to have new wiring added to them according to modern electrical safety code.

Reason 2: Fuse boxes are against modern safety code for a reason, and before we take care of your electrical wants; We need to take care of your home electrical safety first.

Reason 3: Electrical circuit breakers DO NOT LAST FOREVER! Depending on how much use they get used, circuit breakers can last anywhere between 25 to 35 years depending on its usage. There are few electrical emergencies because circuit breakers stop them from ever happening. Circuit breakers lose there reliability past a certain age, and we try to notify you when this starts to happen.

The main electrical breaker is usually the biggest looking breaker inside of your electrical panel. It should say either 100, 150, 200, or 400 amp right on the on/off lever.

We need to make sure your existing home electrical can handle properly handle installing a portable generator. So we ask some details about your future plans during a power outage.

Knowing what your major home appliances are electric like your stove, dryer, heating, or cooling will give us the info we need to what size the circuit breaker will need to be for your electrical panel.

We need to know what brand circuit breaker to buy in order get the right one for your electrical panel.

We need to know if have to make more space in the electrical panel in order to add another circuit breaker.

Try to choose a hookup spot where you can easily get the portable generator out to during a power outage. This includes obstacles during possible bad weather like snow or heavy rains.

The install project becomes more expensive the farther you get from your home electrical panel.

Depending where the electrical panel is located in the home, we always want to communicate that drywall repairs are sometimes necessary when mounting electrical panels in finished areas. Though we try are hardest, sometimes drywall cutouts are necessary in order to install a new electrical panel. If this has to happen then the drywall repair is not included, most times a painter can give you a really fair deal on patching the drywall.

If there is access, most times you can install new electrical circuits without needing drywall repair after.

If there is no access then chances are there will be a need to cut ”easy to patch“ access holes in order to install the wiring for the light switch.

We also need to know if the walls are made of drywall, brick, or other building materials.

Typical home ceiling heights are between 8-10 feet. They can go up to 12-18 feet in some homes.

Look for the best path a wire could take to get from the electrical panel to the desired portable generator hookup location. The electrical wire should try to take a path that doesn’t disturb (drywall repair) too much of your home finished areas.

When you are trying to figure out an electrical wiring path from your electrical panel to somewhere in your house. Try to keep in mind how the wire will mount to finished surfaces or if it can be installed behind the drywall easily.

Take your best guess on the length you think the electrical wire would have to be in order to get from your electrical panel to the desired portable generator electrical hookup.

Note that when mounting on finished surfaces or installing outside, you will need to install the electrical circuit wiring in conduit (pipe) for protection.

Newer homes are requiring whole home surge protection to be installed inside the electrical panel to stop surges from utility companies, older electrical equipment, and other natural hazards.

You should put surge protection on your home whenever you have large piece of electrical equipment in your home like an electric vehicle charger, hot tub, or any other large piece of electrical equipment.

Whole home surge protection should also be installed whenever you are getting a home generator, PV solar system, or any other power distribution source installed on your home.

Not installing whole home surge protection whenever it is recommended can at times result in you learning the hard way why it is so important.

All we need to do is be able to get to where we need to work as best as possible.

An overview photo of the main electrical panel area.

A close up photo of the electrical circuit breakers.

A photo of the electrical panel cover information.

An overview photo of the location you would like to install the portable generator.