Whole house generator installers in New Jersey
Power, cost, permits & sizing ↓New Jersey
112 New Jersey companies install and service home standby generators, including 39 generator specialists and factory-authorized dealers. Company and brand details come from each company's own website — for warranty work, confirm current dealer status with the manufacturer directly.
112 companies
Generator specialists (8)
Bauer Gen Systems Generator specialist
Krise Generators Generator specialist
Monmouth County Generac Generator specialist
Northeast Generators LLC Generator specialist
P3 Generator Services Generator specialist
Power Ready NJ Generator specialist
Red's Generator Service, LLC Generator specialist
Salem County Generator Pros Generator specialist
Electrical contractors that install generators (44)
A-Z Electric Electrical contractor
Adams Electrical Contractors, LLC Electrical contractor
AJM & Sons Electric, Inc. Electrical contractor
Anderson Electric Corp Electrical contractor
Ark Electric LLC Electrical contractor
Atler Electric Inc Electrical contractor
B-TEC Electric Company, LLC Electrical contractor
Best Electric Electrical contractor
Bott Electrical Contractor, Inc. Electrical contractor
Bruynell Electric LLC Electrical contractor
CAM Electrical Services LLC Electrical contractor
Cliff Wood Electric Electrical contractor
Cobalt Electric LLC Electrical contractor
Costanzo Electrical & Mechanical, LLC Electrical contractor
Crafted Electrical Services Electrical contractor
Echelon Services (formerly Echelon Electric) Electrical contractor
Electri-Tech Electrical contractor
First Class Electric Electrical contractor
Flemington Electricians Electrical contractor
GEO Electric Electrical contractor
Guaranteed Service Electrical contractor
Hollander Electric Electrical contractor
Innovative Electrical Contracting Inc. Electrical contractor
J.S. Electrical Services Electrical contractor
Janco Electric Electrical contractor
JLC Electrical Contractors LLC Electrical contractor
Joan of Arc Electric Electrical contractor
Lighting Mechanical & Electric services LLC Electrical contractor
Main Line Electric Electrical contractor
Mardel Electrical Contractor Electrical contractor
Masten Electric, LLC Electrical contractor
Mikulka Electric, Inc. Electrical contractor
Mt Salem Electric Electrical contractor
Navesink Electrical Contracting, Inc Electrical contractor
Nor'Easter Electric LLC Electrical contractor
Pezz Electrical Services, LLC Electrical contractor
Princeton Electrical Makeover Electrical contractor
Pro Volt Electrical Electrical contractor
Raynor Services Electrical contractor
Savacool Electric Electrical contractor
Spotlight Energy Solutions Electrical contractor
Super Power Electric, Heat & Air Electrical contractor
We Do Electric LLC Electrical contractor
Wells Electric Electrical contractor
HVAC & plumbing contractors that install generators (29)
A-1 Comfort Care Heating, Cooling & Plumbing HVAC / plumbing contractor
Air Group HVAC / plumbing contractor
Albon Plumbing, Heating and Water Conditioning HVAC / plumbing contractor
Arctic Air HVAC / plumbing contractor
Ben's ProServ HVAC / plumbing contractor
Bloomfield Cooling, Heating & Electric, Inc. HVAC / plumbing contractor
Bovio Rubino Service HVAC / plumbing contractor
C&C Air Conditioning, Heating, Plumbing & Electric HVAC / plumbing contractor
Comfort Now by Bob McAllister HVAC / plumbing contractor
Dwyer Services HVAC / plumbing contractor
Edison Heating & Cooling HVAC / plumbing contractor
ExpertEase Plumbing Heating & Cooling HVAC / plumbing contractor
GRC Mechanical Services, Inc. HVAC / plumbing contractor
Harris Plumbing, Heating, Air, & Electric (D.E. Harris Services Inc.) HVAC / plumbing contractor
Homestead Plumbing & Heating, Inc. HVAC / plumbing contractor
McAllister The Service Company HVAC / plumbing contractor
Meyer & Depew HVAC / plumbing contractor
NJ Pipe Doctor HVAC / plumbing contractor
PFO Heating & Air Conditioning HVAC / plumbing contractor
Pipe Works Services HVAC / plumbing contractor
Precision Tech Home Services HVAC / plumbing contractor
Princeton Air HVAC / plumbing contractor
Real McCoy Plumbing Heating & Water Conditioning HVAC / plumbing contractor
Redding's Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning HVAC / plumbing contractor
Reiner Group, Inc. HVAC / plumbing contractor
SG Heating & Air Conditioning, LLC HVAC / plumbing contractor
Shamrock Heating and Air Conditioning Inc HVAC / plumbing contractor
Stashluk Plumbing, Heating, Air Conditioning & Generators HVAC / plumbing contractor
Tavares HVAC LLC HVAC / plumbing contractor
Power in New Jersey
New Jersey learned the price of a long outage on October 29, 2012, when Superstorm Sandy drove the ocean over the barrier islands and cut power to about 2.5 million customers at its peak — most of the state — some homes for close to two weeks. It wasn't a fluke: nor'easters and coastal storms batter the Shore and the Pinelands most years, and a flooded substation takes days to bring back. A whole-home standby generator sits on a pad beside the house, senses the outage, and starts on its own within seconds — keeping the heat, sump pump, well, refrigerator, and medical equipment running on natural gas in the metros or propane down the Shore until PSE&G, JCP&L, or Atlantic City Electric restores the line.
Generator permits & codes in New Jersey
- Who issues permits
- Permits and inspections run through the New Jersey Uniform Construction Code (N.J.A.C. 5:23), administered by the Department of Community Affairs, Division of Codes and Standards, and enforced by your municipality's local construction official — the local office issues the permits and inspects the work. The electrical work itself is licensed statewide: it must be performed by or under a licensed electrical contractor registered with the Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors in the Division of Consumer Affairs.
- Timeline
- Varies by municipality. A residential standby generator is typically permitted over the counter without full plan review, then inspected under the electrical subcode once the work is complete — with an added building inspection for the pad and a fuel-gas inspection where a natural-gas or propane line is run. Fees and turnaround differ from town to town.
- Code in force
- The electrical subcode is the 2020 National Electrical Code (NEC), adopted at N.J.A.C. 5:23-3.16, which took effect September 6, 2022 as part of New Jersey's move to the 2021 ICC I-Code family. Because the UCC is a uniform statewide code, that same NEC edition applies in every municipality — a town can't adopt its own electrical edition.
- Major utilities
- Four investor-owned electric distribution companies are regulated by the Board of Public Utilities: Public Service Electric & Gas (PSE&G), the largest and a combined gas-and-electric utility across the north and central metros; Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L, a FirstEnergy company) across central, western, and Shore areas; Atlantic City Electric in the south; and Rockland Electric in a small pocket of the northwest. PSE&G warns that a generator plugged into house wiring can backfeed the lines and endanger utility crews and neighbors, and that a permanent unit should be sized and installed by a qualified electrician with an inspection.
- Worth knowing
- Unlike states that leave electrician licensing to individual municipalities, New Jersey licenses electrical contractors at the state level: under the Electrical Contractors Licensing Act of 1962, the electrical work on a generator must be done by or under a business licensed by the state Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors — a homeowner generally can't legally wire it in themselves. The construction code is uniform statewide too, so the electrical edition and the permit-and-inspection requirement are the same at the Shore as in the suburbs; only local fees and turnaround differ.
Common questions about whole house generators in New Jersey
How much does a standby generator cost installed in New Jersey?
For a typical New Jersey home, budget roughly $10,000–$16,000 all-in for a
whole-house air-cooled standby unit (about 18–26 kW), installed on a
pad with an automatic transfer switch. Northeast labor and permit costs sit
at the higher end of the national range. Fuel is the swing factor: in the
PSE&G and JCP&L gas territories the unit ties into an existing natural-gas
line, but a Jersey Shore or rural home on propane needs a buried tank and a
regulator, which adds cost. A backup-circuit setup that powers only the
essentials runs less than a true whole-home system.
Do I need a permit to install a generator in New Jersey?
Yes. A permanently installed standby generator is regulated work under the
New Jersey Uniform Construction Code. Your local construction official
issues the permits — an electrical subcode permit, plus building and fuel-gas
subcode permits where a slab is poured or a gas or propane line is run — and
the work is inspected before it's energized. The electrical portion must be
performed by or under a licensed New Jersey electrical contractor. This
isn't optional paperwork: an unpermitted install can surface later at resale
or on an insurance claim.
What size generator do I need in New Jersey?
That comes down to a load calculation, not a rule of thumb. An electrician
totals what you actually want running during an outage — heat or the
air-handler on a gas furnace, the sump pump that keeps a Bergen or
Middlesex basement dry, the well pump on a rural or Shore lot, the
refrigerator, and any medical equipment — and sizes the unit and transfer
switch to it. Most New Jersey homes land in the 18–26 kW range for
whole-home coverage; a managed or essential-circuits setup can do the job
with a smaller unit. Central-air load and electric heat push the number up.
Generac, Kohler, Cummins, or Briggs & Stratton — does the brand matter?
All four make reliable home standby units, and any of them will start when
the grid drops. What matters more is the installer and the service
relationship afterward — who sizes the load correctly, pulls the permits,
and comes back for annual service and after a storm. On a barrier-island or
bayfront lot, ask about the enclosure and how it holds up in salt air,
because coastal corrosion, not the badge on the front, is what shortens a
generator's life at the Shore.
How long does installation take?
The on-site work is usually one to two days once the unit and the transfer
switch are in hand — the pad, the gas or propane connection, the electrical
tie-in, and the utility and inspection sign-offs. The calendar time is
longer: a site visit and quote, then permitting through the local
construction office, then inspection. After a Sandy-scale storm those steps
stretch, because every house on the block wants a generator and a crew at
the same moment. Ordering ahead of hurricane season, rather than the week
after a nor'easter, is how you avoid competing for both the unit and the
installer.
What maintenance does a standby generator need?
An annual service — oil and filter, spark plugs on schedule, a battery
check, and a load test — on top of the weekly self-test the unit runs on its
own. New Jersey's humid summers and freeze-thaw winters are hard on the
battery, and a Shore install near salt water wants a regular corrosion check
of the enclosure and connections. The point is to prove the unit works
before the season it's needed, not during it. Many installers listed here
offer maintenance plans and will service brands they don't sell. Neglected
maintenance is the most common reason a generator fails to start when the
grid finally goes down.