Generators in St. Louis

What St. Louis Homeowners Should Know About Standby Generators

A standby generator is a permanent fixture connected directly to your home's electrical panel and natural gas or propane supply. Unlike a portable generator, it requires no setup, no extension cords, and no manual starting. When utility power drops, an automatic transfer switch detects the outage and signals the unit to start, typically within seconds.

Proper sizing matters more than most homeowners realize. A generator that's too small won't power the circuits that matter most; one that's oversized costs more than necessary upfront and runs inefficiently. Proper sizing starts with a load calculation that accounts for your home's square footage, critical circuits, HVAC system, and any high-demand appliances. Our licensed team performs this assessment before recommending any unit, so you get a solution matched to your actual needs rather than a generic one.

Generator Safety for St. Louis Homeowners

A standby generator is one of the most valuable investments a homeowner can make for resilience and peace of mind, but it is also a piece of equipment that demands respect. 

The most critical safety requirement for any home generator is proper transfer switch installation. A generator connected to a home's electrical system without a transfer switch can backfeed power onto utility lines, creating a life-threatening hazard for utility workers in your neighborhood. Every Potts Electric generator installation includes a properly installed transfer switch that isolates your home's system from the grid before the generator comes online.

Placement matters as well. Generators produce carbon monoxide, and that exhaust has to go somewhere other than into your living space. Standby generators should be installed at a safe distance from the home, with clearance from windows, doors, and any openings that lead to interior spaces. This is not a detail to work out after the fact. Proper siting is part of the installation plan, and our team assesses it before any equipment is placed.

Once installed, a generator requires regular maintenance, which you can perform when you actually need it. Fuel systems, oil levels, spark plugs, and battery connections all require periodic attention, and a generator that has not been exercised or serviced in years may not start reliably during an outage. 

Potts Electric offers maintenance services for existing generators throughout the St. Louis metro, because the best time to find out your generator has a problem is not the moment the power goes out.