Storm-Ready Backup Power
Whole-home and standby generator installation in Lebanon — automatic transfer switches, load management, and storm-ready backup power.
About two out of three Lebanon homes heat with oil, and every one of those boilers and furnaces goes cold the moment the power fails, because the burner, the circulators and the controls all run on electricity. Add a private well pump, a sump pump and a refrigerator, and an outage in a Lebanon winter quickly becomes more than an inconvenience. Central Maine Power serves the town out of its Alfred district, and its lines run through wooded country and pine plains where falling trees are the usual cause of trouble. The storms have been serious enough that York County appears in federal disaster declarations for the 2017 windstorm and for two separate storm events in 2024.
For an owner who wants nothing to do when the lights go out, a standby generator paired with an automatic transfer switch detects the loss of power, fires up, runs the household and powers down again once CMP is back. About 16 percent of Lebanon homes heat with propane and the Census lists no gas utility, so propane is the standard fuel, kept in a tank large enough for days of operation. On a tighter budget, a portable unit plugged into an outside inlet, with an interlock fitted to the panel, can run the boiler, well pump and refrigerator without feeding power back up the utility line where it could hurt a lineworker. A portable unit always runs outdoors, away from windows and doors, because its exhaust carries carbon monoxide.
Goodnow Electric matches each generator to what the household really has to run, not to the biggest model on the lot. On lots near the Salmon Falls River, the Little River or other waters, Lebanon's shoreland zoning ordinance, updated in 2024 with a shoreland map revised in June 2025, and its 2025 floodplain management ordinance can affect where a generator pad and fuel tank may sit; FEMA flood maps for the town took effect on July 17, 2024. According to the state board, putting in a transfer switch by itself is not a service change, so it does not bring along the outdoor emergency disconnect that new and upgraded services need.
Housing, heating, outage and permit details for the whole town are on our Lebanon electrician page. Other work we do here: residential electrical in Lebanon, emergency electrician in Lebanon, lighting services in Lebanon, electrical panel upgrades in Lebanon, and ev charger installation in Lebanon.
The same service in neighboring towns: Acton, Sanford, Berwick, North Berwick, Shapleigh, and Portland.
For how the work is done anywhere in Southern Maine, see our main generator installation service page and our generator sizing guide.
“Brett was super responsive when we called. He had John out to our house 48 hours later! Brett and John were both very friendly and John did excellent work! Would highly recommend Goodnow Electric and will use them again when needed. 10/10!”
Gina McCurdy • July 2025 • Google Review
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