Four years ago I bought a propane powered, Generac 20kw generator with a smart transfer switch panel for emergency house power. Total price was just over $4,000, including the smart switch, which was listed individually at $300, but came with the package.
I had two bids to have it wired to the house, one for $1100, and another for a bit over $800. It took the electrician and one helper about six hours to do the job. Gas line hookup was less than $100. For less than $5k, I was hooked up and operational.
Last spring, I moved the generator to our new house, but left the smart switch wired in at the old house. The identical new smart switch set me back $900 this time. Then I asked bids to hook up. The gas company said it would be about $300, depending on the length of the buried pipe. It's 3 feet, while the last time was over 50ft.
I called a half-dozen electricians before I found one who would even do the job...his bid $1,800. I thought the price was wildly inflated, because the generator location and circuits are nearly identical to the old house. Since I had a hard time finding anyone to do the job, I suspected that he didn't want the job, but if he won it, he wanted to make a killing.
I was so disgusted that I put the installation on hold until two weeks ago. This time, I called a different electrician and they finally got the bid back to me yesterday...$5,130.00!!! The bid was higher than the total cost of a new generator and all hook-ups just four years ago.
Has anybody had a whole-house generator hooked up recently? Am I way out of touch with reality, or is the last bid simply insane?
I had two bids to have it wired to the house, one for $1100, and another for a bit over $800. It took the electrician and one helper about six hours to do the job. Gas line hookup was less than $100. For less than $5k, I was hooked up and operational.
Last spring, I moved the generator to our new house, but left the smart switch wired in at the old house. The identical new smart switch set me back $900 this time. Then I asked bids to hook up. The gas company said it would be about $300, depending on the length of the buried pipe. It's 3 feet, while the last time was over 50ft.
I called a half-dozen electricians before I found one who would even do the job...his bid $1,800. I thought the price was wildly inflated, because the generator location and circuits are nearly identical to the old house. Since I had a hard time finding anyone to do the job, I suspected that he didn't want the job, but if he won it, he wanted to make a killing.
I was so disgusted that I put the installation on hold until two weeks ago. This time, I called a different electrician and they finally got the bid back to me yesterday...$5,130.00!!! The bid was higher than the total cost of a new generator and all hook-ups just four years ago.
Has anybody had a whole-house generator hooked up recently? Am I way out of touch with reality, or is the last bid simply insane?
