Generator Installation, Maintenance and Other Costs

February 6, 2024      

See last week's blog for more on the cost of home generators.

The largest expense by far is the cost of purchasing and installing the generator. Installation costs will vary by the type of generator you purchase.

With a portable generator, there is no real installation cost. A whole home generator, by contrast, is a more permanent structure that requires proper setup. Installation costs include labor and electrical work including circuitry and transfer switches. It may include installing a concrete pad for the generator. All that can cost between $500 to $5,000, according to HomeAdvisor.

Maintaining a generator carries a small annual cost. You should also get your generator inspected before seasons when you're most likely to need it. This can cost as much as $80 to $300.

Then there is the cost of actually running a generator, which varies by type of generator. Estimates from HomeAdvisor suggest that if you are operating a whole home generator that is powered using diesel or propane, you can expect to pay around $200 per day for 20 kW of power. A portable gas generator providing 5 kW of power can cost around $100 per day to run, depending on gas prices.

Natural gas, which is commonly used for whole home generators, tends to be the most affordable option, although it can also rack up costs, depending on how long you have to depend on it.

The cost of running the machine, assuming the fuel is natural gas piped to your home, can be significant. But in the current market, with natural gas hovering at or below three dollars per MMBtu (metric million British thermal unit), you'd have to have an extended outage for that cost to become significant.

See next week's blog for more on the benefits of a home generator.

Explore generator options at South Shore Generator Sales & Service, contact us.

cnet.com

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