Are you considering a whole home generator?

Then you will need a gas line run to it as part of the installation

You are most likely purchasing your whole home generator through the electrician. Whether you bought it through your electrician, at Home Depot or Lowes, you will need a gas line run to it for it to operate and we can help you.

While we don't recommend purchasing a whole home generator from a big box store as you will then need to find an electrician to install it and we have found most don't like to take on a piece of equipment that they didn't buy themselves due to warranty issues, we can help you with the gas line.

Generally, if you have purchased your whole home generator through an electrician they will call us to come pipe the gas line in.

The Process:

First, we shut off the gas to the house and add a valve to your meter so we can get into the gas system and isolate it from the rest of the house. We should only need to turn off the gas for about 30 minutes.

Once complete we come back in the house to relight the water heater, furnace, and any other pilot lights you may have on gas appliances to make sure every appliance is working properly.

Next, we're back outside running the line, generally alongside the electrician at the initial startup.

The gas line is typically a black line that attaches to the side of the house, low to the ground and we make sure it's painted and is subtle to blend with the house and foundation.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Is your current gas meter big enough or does it need to be upgraded?

Our first step in the process of connecting a gas line to a whole home generator is to calculate the load on your house. In other words, how many BTU's are you using in the house vs size of your meter?

We find it is a 50/50 split if you need to upgrade your meter or not.

If you do need an upgraded meter, DTE has to come out to upgrade the meter. It is the responsibility of the homeowner and we cannot upgrade a meter for you but we can tell you whether or not it needs to be upgraded. We can do this at any time prior to your purchase of a whole home generator or after your purchase.

All we need to evaluate whether you need to upgrade your meter is a photo of the gas meter and some basic info from the homeowner. We don't even need to come to your house!

We would need to know:

  • How many BTU's is your furnace? This information is located on the inside cabinet of the furnace with the description.
  • What is the size of your water heater?
  • Do you have any other gas appliances in the house? A stove, dryer, gas fireplace, or outdoor appliances like a gas grill, pool heater or firepit?
  • How big is the generator you're looking to purchase?

    With this information we can tell you whether or not you will need to upgrade your DTE meter prior to installing your whole home generator.

    • How loud will my whole home generator be?

  • We call it "the sound of comfort" as you will still have power to your house even when your neighbors may not but there's no doubt that when your generator is running it will create sound. We compare it to a car revving at 3000 outside your window or to the equivalent sound of a gas generator.

    • Where are you going to place the generator?

  • Placing your whole home generator as close as you can to your gas meter will save you potentially thousands of dollars in costs to run your gas lines vs if you place the generator in a location far from your meter. It's completely up to the homeowner what their preference is and we're happy to give an estimate of the cost based on the location.

    We're happy to answer any questions you may have about installing a whole home generator and running a gas line to it. Give us a call for an estimate today!