Santa Barbara Generators

It comes from what has to run, not from square footage. A typical Santa Barbara home with gas heat and one air conditioner is comfortable on 18kW to 22kW. Add a second air conditioner, a pool, an EV charger, all-electric cooking or a well pump and you are into 26kW and above. The figure that usually sets the minimum is the starting current of the largest motor, since that is the moment a generator either holds or drops the load. We size on site and it takes about half an hour.

A portable unit is rolled out, started by hand, refuelled from cans and connected through a manual transfer switch or interlock. A standby unit is bolted to a pad, connected to natural gas or propane, and started automatically by a transfer switch seconds after the utility fails, whether or not anyone is home. Portables suit an occasional short outage. Standby units are the answer where outages are long, frequent or expensive, which describes most of this county.

Natural gas wherever the main reaches, because there is no tank, no deliveries and effectively unlimited runtime. Propane on rural parcels without a main, since it stores for years and a 500 gallon tank covers a week of running comfortably. Diesel above roughly 100kW, where its output per gallon and stamina under sustained load make it the standard for industrial and rental equipment. Propane derates an engine slightly compared with natural gas, which we allow for when sizing.

We are factory trained on Generac, Kohler, Cummins and Champion and carry out warranty work on all four. Generac has the widest parts network in the country and leads the residential market. Kohler generators tend to have quieter enclosures at the same rating. Cummins builds the engines behind much of the commercial and industrial market. Champion sits at the accessible end of the price range. We also service Onan and older equipment we did not install.

Between $5,000 and $15,000 for a complete installation in Santa Barbara County, covering the unit, the pad, the transfer switch, the gas work, the permit and commissioning. A critical-circuit system on a straightforward site is at the bottom of that band; a 26kW unit with a service-rated switch and a long gas run is at the top. We quote one flat number after a site visit rather than a headline price with additions.

Yes, through the manufacturer programs and through our own lender, with terms that generally run from three to ten years depending on the amount. Most residential installations work out to a monthly payment in the same range as a phone bill, which is usually a more useful way to look at it than the total. We can put the numbers in front of you at the estimate rather than sending you away to work it out.

Agents and appraisers on the South Coast generally put a properly installed, permitted standby system at somewhere around 3 to 5 percent of home value, and it is a genuine selling point in areas that see public safety power shutoffs. Two conditions matter: the installation has to have been permitted and inspected, and there has to be a maintenance record. An unpermitted unit is a negotiating problem during escrow rather than an asset.

On natural gas, as long as the outage lasts, since the fuel keeps arriving. On propane, a 250 gallon tank runs a mid-size home roughly two to three days at typical load and a 500 gallon tank comfortably covers a week. On diesel, runtime follows tank size, and a 100kW set with a 200 gallon base tank runs somewhere around a day and a half at half load before it wants refuelling.

Annually for a residential standby unit, or every 100 to 200 running hours if that comes first, with an early first service after commissioning. Commercial emergency systems are exercised monthly and given a documented annual test at rated load. Skipping the annual visit is the usual reason a warranty claim gets refused, and stale fuel and dead batteries are the two failures it exists to catch.