For most households, a power outage is an inconvenience — candles found, food moved, an early night. For some, it is considerably more serious. A family member on home oxygen or refrigerated medication, a home-based business with servers and communications, a property in a bushfire-prone area where electric gates and pumps must remain operational — in these situations, an uninterrupted power supply is not a comfort, it is a necessity. A permanently installed standby generator provides that certainty without requiring anyone to act.
Standby generators and automatic transfer switching
Unlike portable generators that require manual setup and can only power a few circuits, a permanently installed standby generator sits outside the home on a prepared concrete pad, connected to the gas supply or a dedicated diesel or petrol tank, and wired into the home's switchboard through an Automatic Transfer Switch. When grid power is lost, the ATS detects the outage within seconds, starts the generator automatically, and transfers the electrical load across. The whole process takes between ten and thirty seconds depending on the system. When grid power is restored, the ATS transfers back and shuts the generator down — again, without any human intervention.
Generator sizing is a critical part of the design process. An undersized generator will struggle under load and trip when multiple appliances run simultaneously. An oversized unit wastes fuel and runs inefficiently. We carry out a detailed load assessment before recommending any generator, identifying which circuits and appliances are essential during an outage and sizing the unit to carry them comfortably with headroom for normal household behaviour rather than requiring you to carefully manage what you switch on.
Fuel types and placement considerations
Natural gas-connected standby generators are the most popular choice for urban and suburban properties because they run from the existing reticulated gas supply, eliminating the need to store and rotate fuel. Diesel generators are typically preferred for rural properties or larger commercial loads where gas is not available, and for applications demanding very high output. LPG-connected units bridge the gap for properties with existing LPG tanks. Placement is governed by AS/NZS 3010 and manufacturer clearance requirements — generators must be positioned away from windows and air-conditioning intakes to prevent exhaust ingestion, and within a practical cable run of the switchboard. We handle council notification and relevant network authority approvals as part of the installation process.
- Generator supply and installation for residential and commercial properties
- Automatic Transfer Switch installation and switchboard integration
- Load assessment and generator sizing for essential and whole-home circuits
- Natural gas, LPG, and diesel connection options
- Annual servicing plans and load bank testing
All generator installations are completed in accordance with AS/NZS 3010, the Australian Standard for electrical installations — generating sets. We coordinate with your gas fitter where required for natural gas or LPG connections, handle the switchboard modifications, and commission the ATS through a full test sequence that confirms automatic start, transfer, and return-to-grid operation. Documentation of the installation and a handover briefing are provided at completion.
Maintenance keeps your generator ready when you need it
A generator that has sat untested for two years is not a reliable backup — it is a risk. We offer annual maintenance contracts that include oil and filter changes, spark plug inspection, battery load testing, coolant check, fuel system inspection, and a full load transfer test that proves the ATS and generator perform exactly as expected under real conditions. Exercise runs can also be programmed into the ATS controller so the generator starts and runs briefly on a regular schedule, keeping the engine lubricated and the battery charged without requiring any intervention from you. When the grid next fails, you will barely notice.