Generator Installation in Norfolk and Chesapeake, VA

Generator installation in Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake keeps your house running when the power goes out: the fridge cold, the heat or the air conditioning on, the sump pump working and the lights on. There are two ways to do it. A standby generator sits outside on its own pad and starts by itself within seconds of an outage. A portable generator hookup lets you wheel a generator out, plug it into an inlet on the house and power the circuits you choose, safely.

Standby or portable hookup

A standby generator costs more, runs on natural gas or propane and needs no one at home to start it. It’s the choice for houses with medical equipment, a sump pump that has to keep running or owners who travel during storm season. A portable hookup costs much less and suits outages that come a few times a year. Both need a transfer switch, and we’ll price both if you’re not sure.

Storm season in Hampton Roads

Most years bring a few summer storms strong enough to drop lines, a nor’easter or two, and every so often a hurricane or a tropical storm that keeps parts of the area dark for days. The rural edges of Chesapeake and the long feeder lines out toward Pungo tend to wait longest for the power to come back. That’s why so many owners here ask for a generator, and why the best time to fit one is in the spring, before the first storm is in the forecast and every electrician in the area is booked.

Never a cord through a window

Running a portable generator into the house with extension cords, or plugging it into an outlet, is how people get hurt in outages. Power can feed back into the street lines, and the generator’s exhaust is deadly indoors. A proper inlet and transfer switch fix both, and the generator stays outside, away from doors and windows.

Sizing it to what you need

We start with a list of what you want running in an outage. A small list, such as the fridge, the furnace fan, a few lights and the internet, needs a much smaller generator than the whole house with central air. In August, a window unit or the heat pump may matter more than anything else. We add up the load, check your panel and size the generator and the transfer switch to match.

What the install includes

For a standby generator, we pull the permits with your city, set the pad, place the generator where the code allows, connect the gas line with a licensed gas fitter where needed, wire the transfer switch and test a full outage. For a portable hookup, we fit the inlet and the transfer switch and walk you through the start-up. Then we book the inspection.

Yearly service

A standby generator tests itself every week, but it still needs a yearly visit for the oil, the filters, the battery and the transfer switch. We can put that visit on the calendar for you each spring, so it’s done before hurricane season rather than after the first outage. Near the water, the yearly visit also checks the enclosure and connections for salt corrosion.

Your written estimate

The estimate lists the generator, the transfer switch, the gas work, the pad, the permit and the yearly service on separate lines. We register the manufacturer’s warranty in your name. We fit generators and hookups across Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake.