A whole-house standby generator in New Jersey costs $11,000 to $17,000 installed for a 14–18 kW unit, and $14,000 to $25,000 for a 22–26 kW system that carries the whole house. Call (201) 676-3099 or book a free estimate.
A whole-house standby generator in New Jersey costs $11,000 to $17,000 installed for a 14–18 kW unit, and $14,000 to $25,000 for a 22–26 kW system that carries the whole house. That's the real installed number — generator, pad, automatic transfer switch, gas line, electrical work, permits and inspections. The unit itself is usually less than half of it. Here's how the price is built, what pushes it up, and the $400–$1,300 alternative that covers the essentials.
2026 New Jersey generator price brackets
Prices assume natural gas at the house and a reasonable run from the meter and the panel to the generator pad. Our written price includes every line above that applies to your house, and it can't change without your signature on a written change order.
| System | What it runs | Typical fixed-price range, installed |
|---|---|---|
| 10–12 kW standby, natural gas | Essentials: heat, fridge, well or sump, a few circuits | $9K – $13K |
| 14–18 kW standby with automatic transfer switch | Most of a 2,000–2,800 sq ft house, one AC zone | $11K – $17K |
| 22–26 kW standby, whole-home 200A transfer switch | Everything, including central AC and electric range | $14K – $25K |
| Add: long gas line run or a gas meter upgrade | +$1.5K – $3.5K | |
| Add: propane tank and set (no natural gas on the street) | +$5K – $8K | |
| Add: electrical panel or 100-to-200 amp service upgrade first | +$1.8K – $6.6K | |
| Add: electric and plumbing permits, inspections | $350 – $650 | |
| Portable generator + interlock kit and inlet | 6–10 circuits you switch on by hand | $400 – $850 |
| Portable generator + manual transfer switch | 6–10 circuits, cleaner and labeled | $400 – $1,300 |
| Annual maintenance visit (oil, filters, plugs, load test) | $300 – $600 |
What's actually in the price?
- The generator itself — roughly $3,500 to $9,000 of the total, depending on kW and brand.
- The automatic transfer switch, the box that watches the utility and swaps your house over in 10 to 30 seconds. A whole-house 200-amp switch costs more than a 10-circuit one, and it's most of the gap between the brackets.
- The pad — composite or poured concrete, set level and above grade, far enough from windows, doors and vents to meet clearances and your town's rules.
- The gas work: a line sized for the generator's demand, run from the meter, pressure tested and inspected. This is the line item people never see coming.
- The electrical work: conductors from the generator to the transfer switch to your panel, grounding, a battery charger circuit, and any panel work to make room.
- Permits, inspections and start-up — both subcode permits, the inspector's visit, and the load test that proves it runs before we leave.
Why the gas line is the hidden cost
A 22 kW generator eats a lot of gas at full load. Your meter and house piping were sized for a furnace, a water heater, a stove and a dryer — not for another appliance bigger than all of them combined.
So two things get checked before we quote. How far the generator sits from the meter, because gas pipe gets more expensive per foot the longer and bigger it runs. And whether PSE&G, New Jersey Natural Gas, Elizabethtown Gas or South Jersey Gas has to upgrade your meter to deliver the volume. That's free from some utilities and not others, and it always takes time — budget two to four weeks on their calendar, not ours.
No gas on your street means propane, and a tank big enough to run for days: tank, set, regulator and line adds $5,000 to $8,000, plus fuel.
In New Jersey, gas piping falls under the plumbing subcode and only a licensed plumber can contract for it. Plenty of electricians install the generator and sub the gas out. We have a licensed master plumber on the team, so one crew does the gas, the electric, the permits and the inspections.
What size generator does a NJ house need?
Short version: 10–12 kW keeps the essentials alive, 14–18 kW covers most of a normal house with one air conditioner, and 22–26 kW runs everything without you thinking about it.
What drives it is your big loads, not square footage. Central AC is the biggest — a 3-ton compressor takes a hard swing of current every time it starts. Then an electric range, an electric dryer, a well pump, an EV charger. A gas-heat, gas-hot-water house with one AC zone is comfortable on 18 kW; the same house all-electric with two AC zones needs 24 kW or better.
Don't let anyone size it off a brochure. We count your loads at the panel, and our generator sizing guide walks through the math.
Do I need a permit for a generator in New Jersey?
Yes — two, usually. An electrical subcode permit for the transfer switch and wiring, and a plumbing subcode permit for the gas line. Some towns also want zoning sign-off on where the unit sits, because generators have setback and noise rules, and shore and flood-zone towns often require the unit above base flood elevation.
Expect $350 to $650 total for permits and inspections at two stages. Add the utility's schedule for a meter change and the honest full timeline is one to three months from signature to a running generator — with only one to two of those days at your house.
We pull both permits, meet both inspectors and handle the utility paperwork.
Is a portable generator enough?
For a lot of New Jersey households, honestly, yes. A good portable plus an interlock kit and an outdoor inlet runs $400 to $850 installed; a manual transfer switch runs $400 to $1,300. That keeps the furnace, the fridge, the sump pump and some outlets alive. The generator itself is usually $500 to $2,000 at a big-box store.
The trade-offs are real. You have to be home to start it, store and stabilize gasoline, and refuel every six to twelve hours — at 2am, in a nor'easter. It's loud. And it must sit outside, well away from the house: never in a garage, never in a breezeway, never under an open window. Portable generators kill people here every storm season through carbon monoxide.
The one thing you must never do is back-feed your panel through a dryer plug with a double-ended cord. It energizes the line outside and can kill a utility worker. That's exactly what the interlock kit prevents, and it's cheap.
Why New Jersey buys generators
We're a coastal state with a mature tree canopy and overhead wires running through it. Nor'easters take out power in Bergen and Passaic, summer storms drop limbs on JCP&L lines across Monmouth and Ocean, ice takes down branches in Morris and Sussex. People who lived through Sandy don't need the pitch.
The math that matters isn't the outage — it's what's in the house. A sump pump that stops in a March storm is a finished basement. A freezer full of food, a well pump with no water, medical equipment, or pipes in an unheated house in January.
Maintenance matters too. A standby unit exercises itself weekly and needs a real service once a year — oil, filters, plugs and a load test, $300 to $600. Skip it for four years and you'll find out it doesn't start on the night you need it.
Where these numbers come from
Installed brackets come from New Jersey electrical contractor price pages published in 2025 and 2026, national cost guides for transfer switches and portables, and our own 2026 quotes. Permit ranges come from municipal fee schedules and the permits we pulled this year. Sizing guidance reflects manufacturer load tables. These are brackets — your gas run, your panel and your town set the final number, and you get it in writing before anything is ordered.
Questions people ask next
How much does a whole-house generator cost installed in NJ?
$11,000 to $17,000 for a 14–18 kW natural gas unit with an automatic transfer switch, and $14,000 to $25,000 for a 22–26 kW whole-home system. That includes the pad, the gas line, the electrical work, permits and start-up. A long gas run, a meter upgrade or a panel upgrade adds to it.
How long does generator installation take?
One to two days at your house. The full calendar is one to three months, because permits, the utility's meter or service work, and inspections run on their own schedule. We order the unit, pull both permits and coordinate the utility so you're not making those calls.
Does a generator need its own gas line?
Yes, sized for the generator's demand and run from your meter. Your existing house piping is almost never big enough. Depending on distance, that's $1,500 to $3,500 of the job, and your utility may need to upgrade the meter. In New Jersey the gas work has to be done by a licensed plumber under a plumbing permit.
Is a 22 kW generator enough for my house?
For most New Jersey single-family homes, yes — a 22–26 kW unit with a whole-house transfer switch runs central AC, the kitchen, the laundry and everything else at once. Houses with two AC zones, electric heat, electric cooking or an EV charger need the top of that range or a load-management setup. We count the loads at your panel before quoting.
What maintenance does a standby generator need?
An annual service — oil and filter, air filter, spark plugs, battery check and a load test — typically $300 to $600. The unit also exercises itself weekly on its own. The battery is the number-one reason a generator fails to start, and it's a two-to-three-year part in our climate.
Need generator installation near you?
If you searched “generator installation near me” anywhere in New Jersey, that's us. First Call Contracting is based in Paramus and sends its own licensed crew to all 21 counties — written price before work starts, no deposit, a real person on the phone 24/7.
Want the real installed number for your house?
Free consultation, loads counted at your panel, and an itemized written price covering the unit, the gas, the electric and the permits. See our generator installation page for what the job includes.
Or call Alex direct: (201) 676-3099