Florida Electrical & Fire Alarm LLC
(561) 552-3753Port St. Lucie, Florida
Most generator installations only back up a handful of circuits. A true whole-house setup is different — it's sized from a real load calculation of your home, so when the power fails, life goes on: air conditioning, well pump, stove, laundry, everything. Getting there starts with the math, not the machine.
Licensed & insured · Florida Electrical License #ER13016161 · Mon–Sat 8 a.m.–5 p.m. · 24/7 emergency service
Here's the honest version. When some companies sell a "whole house generator," what they install is a medium-sized unit wired to essential circuits only — fridge, some lights, the Wi-Fi. The air conditioner, electric range, dryer, and pool equipment stay dark. That's a perfectly good setup for many families, but it isn't whole-house coverage.
True whole-house coverage means the generator can carry your home's entire calculated load — every circuit, running the way your family actually uses the house. The difference between the two isn't marketing; it's arithmetic. A unit that's too small will stall or trip when the A/C compressor kicks in. A unit that's oversized costs more to buy, burns more fuel, and can actually run worse under light loads.
The right size is a number, not a guess. We calculate your home's demand load — the sum of what everything draws, adjusted for how appliances actually cycle — and size the generator to that figure with proper headroom. That's the whole job, and it's the part that matters most.
The process is methodical, and it happens before anyone talks about equipment:
We go through your home and list everything that draws power: central A/C tonnage and type, electric vs. gas range, water heater, dryer, well or booster pump, pool equipment, EV charger, home office gear. Nameplate ratings come first; assumptions never do.
Motors — A/C compressors, well pumps, pool pumps — draw several times their running current for a few seconds at startup. This locked-rotor surge is what kills undersized installations. We total both figures.
Not everything runs at once. Using standard load-calculation methods, we determine your home's demand load — the realistic peak your family actually creates — rather than the inflated sum of every breaker in the panel.
The unit is selected so your demand load sits comfortably inside its continuous rating, with margin for motor surges and a little growth. Then we confirm your panel, service conductors, and transfer equipment can support the plan.
Why this matters on the Treasure Coast: Florida homes run big cooling loads for most of the year, and hurricane outages arrive during the hottest months. A generator sized without the A/C in the math will leave you sweating through a week-long outage — exactly when you bought it to stay comfortable.
| Essential-circuits setup | True whole-house setup | |
|---|---|---|
| What stays on | Fridge, lights, fans, outlets, internet | Everything — including A/C, range, dryer, well pump, pool |
| Generator size | Smaller unit, lower equipment cost | Larger unit sized from your load calculation |
| Fuel use | Lower | Higher — sized to the load it carries |
| Outage lifestyle | Camping at home — basics covered | Normal life continues uninterrupted |
| Best for | Short outages, tight budgets | Multi-day hurricane outages, medical equipment, home offices, peace of mind |
Neither choice is wrong — but you should know which one you're getting. We put the sizing math in front of you so the decision is yours, made with real numbers.
Once the sizing is settled, the installation itself is the permanent standby type: a concrete pad, an automatic transfer switch at your panel, a natural gas or propane connection, permits and inspections, and a commissioning run where we verify the unit picks up your full calculated load. Because a whole-house unit is larger and draws more fuel, pad placement, gas line sizing, and clearances get extra attention during the site plan.
We also talk through load management: smart modules that briefly shed a non-critical load (like the dryer) for the seconds an A/C compressor starts. Done right, this lets a sensibly sized unit cover the whole house without jumping to the next size up.
That's exactly what the load assessment answers. As a rough frame of reference, many Florida homes land in the 18–26 kW range for full coverage, but the honest answer is that it depends on your A/C size, electric appliances, and pumps. We calculate it from your home's actual equipment — never from a rule of thumb alone.
Yes — if it's sized for it. The A/C compressor's starting surge is the single biggest load in most homes, and it's the item most often left out of undersized quotes. Our calculation includes it from the start.
The equipment is the same family — the difference is the sizing target. A standard standby install usually backs up selected circuits. A whole-house install is engineered so the unit can carry the entire home's demand load.
It can. A generator running far below its capacity for long periods can develop wet-stacking and carbon buildup, and you pay more upfront and in fuel. That's why we size to your calculated load with sensible headroom rather than simply selling the biggest unit.
Sometimes. If your panel is full, aging, or has known problem breakers, we'll flag it during the assessment. Panel condition is part of the site review, and we'll tell you plainly whether it's needed.
Load management modules temporarily pause a heavy non-essential load (like an electric dryer or pool heater) for the few seconds a bigger motor starts. It can let a right-sized unit cover the whole house without upsizing — we recommend it where the math supports it.
The load assessment is a single visit. After that, equipment ordering, permitting, pad work, and installation typically span a few weeks. Plan ahead of hurricane season.
Whole-house generator assessments and installations on the Treasure Coast:
Service provider: Florida Electrical and Fire Alarm LLC
Phone: (561) 552-3753
Email: services.floridaelectrical@gmail.com
License: Florida Electrical License #ER13016161
Hours: Monday–Saturday 8 a.m.–5 p.m.; 24/7 emergency service
A service-area business — we serve Port St. Lucie, Fort Pierce, Stuart, Jensen Beach, and Palm City. No storefront and no street address; we come to you.
See how whole-house coverage is calculatedon our generator installation page before you request a load assessment.
Tell us about your home and we'll schedule the sizing visit that starts everything.