When the power goes out, your house doesn’t notice.
A standby generator restores everything in about ten seconds. Automatically, whether or not you are home.
Why nobody quotes this over the phone
A portable generator fixes the electricity, but only if someone is awake, home, and willing to go outside and start it. An outage is exactly when that person is not available.
A standby unit sits on a pad, wired into your panel through a transfer switch, running on the gas line you already have. It starts itself and shuts itself off. You find out from the microwave clock.
Four things decide what one costs, and all four are specific to your house.
What you want running
Whole home, essential circuits, or specific appliances. That choice sets the size of the unit.
Your panel
Amperage, brand and how full it is. Some older panels have to be replaced before anything ties in.
The transfer switch tie-in
The switch that hands your house over to the generator and back again without you touching anything.
Where it sits
Distance from the gas meter and panel, and whether the trench has to cross a driveway or patio.
A number given on the phone skips all four, which is why it always moves later. The quote tool walks through them properly, asks what you had budgeted, and shows you the range and a recommended model at the end.
Get a real price range for your home
Five short steps about your home, your panel and where the unit would sit. At the end you get a price range and a recommended model, on screen. It asks your budget along the way, so nothing later comes as a surprise.
Your price range on screen, before anyone visits your home.
Unit sized to what you told us you want running, placed on its pad and started up. Wired into your panel so the handover is automatic, then load tested so you have watched it work. If the panel cannot take the tie-in as it stands, that is scoped and priced before you sign, not found later. We pull the permit for your jurisdiction, coordinate with SDG&E, meet the inspector, and register the warranty. Find out what yours costs before you read any further. You will see a range and a recommended model, and can tell us straight away if it is outside your budget. Five steps, a few minutes. It asks about your home, what you want powered, your panel, your gas service and where the unit would sit. The detail is the point: that is what makes the range real rather than a guess. You see your price range and a recommended model on screen straight away. We follow up with the complete written quote. If the range does not work for your budget, say so and we will leave it there. Every technical question has an “I don’t know” option. Answering those honestly is better than guessing, because it just widens the range slightly rather than producing a confident wrong number. Site visit and final quote usually inside a week. From signed proposal to a running generator is typically several weeks, most of it permitting and equipment lead time. The install itself is usually one to two days. Either. If you have a gas meter that is normally simplest, because there is no tank to refill. The quote asks which you have, and about your existing gas appliances, since the meter has to carry the generator as well. Yes, on approved credit. Easiest to walk through once you have a range and know what you are budgeting against. A few minutes, no obligation, and you will know whether this fits your budget before anyone visits.What the price includes
The generator, set and commissioned
Transfer switch and tie-in
Panel work, if your service needs it
Permits, inspection and warranty
Recent work across East County
Questions people ask first
How long does the quote take?
What happens after I finish it?
What if I don’t know my panel details?
How long does the install take?
Natural gas or propane?
Is financing available?
Start with the number.