Generator Installation in New Canaan, CT

The easiest way to sell a generator is to frighten someone into the largest unit on the price list. We would rather run the numbers. Most New Canaan households do not need to run central air, an electric range and a hot tub during an outage — they need heat, well or boiler pump, refrigeration, some lighting, internet and the ability to charge devices. That is a much smaller and cheaper machine.

We build a circuit list with you, calculate the actual starting and running loads, and then recommend a unit that carries it with sensible headroom. If you genuinely want whole-house coverage including air conditioning, we will size for it and tell you what it costs — but you will be choosing that, not being steered into it.

An automatic transfer switch senses the outage, starts the generator, transfers the load, and reverses all of it when utility power returns — usually within thirty seconds and with nobody home. A manual switch with an inlet box costs a fraction as much but needs a portable generator, fuel on hand, and somebody physically present to start it.

The right choice depends on whether the property is occupied full-time, whether anyone in the house depends on powered medical equipment, and whether you have a well pump or a sump that cannot go unattended. We will lay out both properly. Note that the generator itself, the gas line and the pad are often larger line items than the electrical work — we will tell you which parts of the quote are ours and which are the plumber's or the supplier's.

A generator that has never been tested under load is a decoration. On commissioning we run it against real load, verify the transfer and re-transfer timing, check the frequency and voltage under step loads, and walk you through the exercise schedule and what its status lights mean.

After that, an annual check keeps it honest — battery, oil, filters, transfer switch contacts, and a load test. Most generator failures in Fairfield County happen because a unit sat untested for four years and then met a February ice storm. We can look after that for you or show you what to check yourself.

We will tell you when something does not need doing. That happens often enough in New Canaan that it is worth saying explicitly — plenty of things that look alarming are cosmetic, and plenty of upgrades can safely wait a year or two. You will get a straight ranking of what is a safety issue now and what is not.

The properties we work on in New Canaan range from period homes with original wiring in the walls to newer builds where everything is accessible and the job is straightforward. That range is why we quote after looking rather than over the phone — the same nominal job can be a two-hour visit or a full day depending entirely on what is behind the plaster.