Generator Installation in Old Orchard Beach, Maine

Storm damage here comes from two directions. On January 13, 2024, a storm that drove the Portland tide gauge to a record 14.57 feet sent seawater through Old Orchard Beach streets; first responders made about half a dozen water rescues, several roads closed, and Ocean Park was expected to be shut to traffic. Wind events do their damage through the lines instead: the October 2017 nor'easter left more than 400,000 Maine outages, some lasting over a week. In a town where about 18.5 percent of homes heat with electricity, an outage means no heat at all, and a basement sump pump stops at the moment the water table is highest.

Fuel is simpler here than in most of the county. About 12 percent of homes already heat with piped utility gas, and where a gas line serves the house, a standby generator can run from it without refueling. Elsewhere, propane is the usual fuel, and about 16 percent of homes already have a propane tank on site. Goodnow Electric sizes the generator to what has to run: the heat pump or boiler, the sump pump, the refrigerator, lights and a few outlets, or the whole house. Load sizing matters on a tight service: a generator big enough for electric baseboard heat is a very different machine from one that only has to carry a gas furnace blower and a few circuits. A whole-home unit connects through an automatic transfer switch; a portable generator connects through an interlock kit and an outdoor inlet, never by backfeeding a dryer outlet.

Placement is the hard part on a small beach lot. The unit needs clearance from windows, doors and the neighbor's cottage for exhaust, a pad that stays above the water the next storm tide brings, and a location the town's 2024 flood maps allow for mechanical equipment. Salt air argues for a corrosion-resistant enclosure and a routine of checking it each spring. The installation needs a town electrical permit and a local inspection, and the gas or propane connection is a separate trade. A generator that sat in floodwater should be inspected before it is started again.