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David Richey, president of Benchmark Electric shows the lineup of Cummins air- and liquid-cooled NG/LP and diesel generators.
The Need for Reliable Home Standby Power
Picture this: It's 9 PM on a Friday. The power goes out.
Your AC stops. Your security system goes dark. Your sump pump quits. Refrigerated and frozen food start warming up. Powered medical equipment stops working.
Nuisance Power Outages Can Be Disruptive
Without warning, power outages strike, leaving us in the dark and disconnected from the modern conveniences we've grown to rely on. This is where home standby generators come into play. Furthermore, they keep your lights on, your coffee maker brewing, and your home security system running without interruption.
When the lights go out, modern life grinds to a halt. In winter, you lose heat; in summer, air conditioning disappears; and you can't keep medications cold or charge your phones. What starts as an inconvenience quickly becomes a crisis.
For instance, imagine cooking a meal when suddenly you lose all power, or facing a scorching summer day without air conditioning. These situations frustrate homeowners and create real dangers during extreme weather conditions.
A home standby generator minimizes these inconveniences and keeps your household running smoothly during grid failures.
Our Experience In Standby Power
Since 2004, Benchmark Electric has installed standby power systems across the region. We use Cummins Power Generation equipment—the same generators trusted by:
- Hospitals
- Fire stations
- Police departments
How Standby Power Differs from Portable Power Solutions
Cummins generators switch on automatically—you don't need to fumble with extension cords in the dark. When a
power outage occurs, these generators supply electricity to your home within seconds.
Unlike portable generators that require manual setup and fueling, standby generators mount permanently outside your home, typically near the gas meter and electrical panel. Additionally, they connect to your home's electrical system and run on natural gas or propane, ensuring a continuous and reliable power source.
Read more about Portable vs. Standby Generators.
Take Control of Your Power Supply
Investing in a Cummins home standby generator makes smart sense for homeowners who value comfort, convenience, and uninterrupted power supply. With their superior capabilities and advanced features, these generators provide a reliable backup power solution that keeps your home functioning seamlessly even during the most challenging power outages.
Don't let unexpected outages disrupt your life—instead, take control of your power supply with a Cummins home standby generator.
Choosing the Right Standby Generator for Your Home
What Size Generator Do You Actually Need?
Most homeowners get this wrong. They either purchase a unit that's too small, resulting in power loss to half the house, or they buy one that's too large, wasting thousands of dollars.
How Our Team Sizes Generators Correctly
We conduct a thorough walk through of your home and carefully add up the power draw of everything essential. For instance, your refrigerator pulls 700 watts. Additionally, your furnace blower needs another 875 watts. Meanwhile, that CPAP machine requires an additional 300 watts.
Through 20 years of generator installations, we've learned that most homes need between 16kW and 24kW. However, your house isn't like most houses—which is precisely why we calculate your specific needs before making any recommendations.
Understanding Your Home's Power Requirements
The first step in selecting the right standby generator involves determining your power requirements. Our team carefully considers essential appliances and systems that need to remain operational during an outage:
- Refrigerators and freezers
- Heating and cooling systems
- Medical equipment
- Sump pumps, pool equipment, water pumps
- Garage and gate openers
- Security systems
- Lights
Subsequently, we calculate the total power consumption of your essential appliances to establish the minimum power requirements your generator should meet.
Selecting the Right Fuel Type
Next, you must consider the fuel type that best suits your needs. Cummins emergency generators run on natural gas, propane, or diesel. Each fuel type offers various advantages, including differences in availability, cost, and convenience.
For most suburban homes, a natural gas meter already provides an unlimited fuel supply to the generator. Additionally, the same generator accepts propane (LP) for rural settings.
Diesel generators also provide important advantages. Therefore, we carefully assess your fuel availability, budget, and personal preferences to determine which option suits your home best.
Physical Generator Size and Installation Requirements
The physical size of a generator and its corresponding installation requirements also represent crucial considerations. Because standby generators come in different sizes, you must choose one that fits your available space and conforms to local codes while also meeting your standby power needs and requirements.
Why We Choose Cummins
We've installed generators from all major brands over 20 years. In 2017, we switched to Cummins exclusively.
Here's Why
- Quietest in the industry
- Most reliable
- Fewest breakdowns
- 100+ years of innovation
- Best warranty (up to 10 years available)
Warranty Service and Routine Maintenance
Lastly, don't forget the warranty and maintenance options the manufacturer and installing dealer offer. Cummins provides one of the best warranties in the industry, with fewer exclusions than other manufacturers impose. Moreover, they offer extended warranty options that provide coverage for up to 10 years.
Maintenance Matters
- 20+ years experience in generator service
- After-hours emergency number
- Available Friday night at 9 PM if needed
Ultimately, our goal ensures we offer top-level service to every customer. Read more about Generator Routine Service offered throughout the Mid-South.
Finally, our article on Generator Repair Services is worth a quick read because, surprisingly, it identifies the top two reasons for generator fail-to-start issues.
Knowledge Is Power
By carefully considering your power requirements, fuel type, size, reliability, and maintenance options, you can confidently choose the right standby generator system for your home. Through this investment, you receive uninterrupted power, ensuring your home remains safe, comfortable, and functional even during the most challenging outages.
The end result? You and your family receive peace of mind!
What Size Generator do I need for my home?
Understanding Power Requirements
Understanding Power Requirements for Generator Selection
When you select a backup generator for your home, you must thoroughly understand your electrical power consumption to ensure you make the right choice. Wattage represents the rate at which your household devices and systems consume electrical energy.
Each appliance in your home draws a specific amount of power, measured in watts, to operate properly. Moreover, these power demands vary dramatically—from a few watts for LED light bulbs to several thousand watts for major appliances like electric water heaters or central air conditioning systems.
To choose an appropriately sized generator, you need to calculate the total wattage of all essential items you'll power during an outage. Consequently, this assessment ensures your backup power system can handle your household's electrical load without overloading or under-performing when you need it most.
The Critical Difference: Starting vs. Running Watts
Understanding the distinction between starting watts and running watts proves essential when sizing your generator. Many appliances—particularly those with motors or compressors—require significantly more power to start than they do to run continuously.
For instance, refrigerators, air conditioners, and well pumps all demand a surge of electricity during startup before settling into their normal operating consumption. Therefore, you must account for both values when calculating your generator requirements, or you risk selecting a system that can't handle the initial power surge.
Determining the Right Generator Size for Your Home
Selecting an appropriately sized generator requires careful calculation of your home's electrical demands. The key is understanding that appliances typically require more power during startup than during normal operation.
Consider a standard 4-ton central air conditioning unit as an example. While it draws approximately 10,000 watts when initially starting up, its continuous operating power drops to roughly 4,000 watts once running. We recognize this startup surge, known as "inrush current," as a critical factor in generator sizing.
The same principle applies to other major household appliances. Electric ovens, washing machines, and clothes dryers all exhibit distinct power requirements that vary between startup and steady-state operation.
To properly size your generator, you should create a comprehensive inventory of all critical appliances you'll need during an outage. You must document both the starting watts (surge power) and running watts (continuous power) for each device. Subsequently, this detailed assessment will help you determine the minimum generator capacity required to maintain essential functions in your home during electrical outages.
Remember that your generator must handle the highest combination of starting and running loads that might occur simultaneously, not just the total running watts of all appliances.
Powering Your Home Electronics and Essential Circuits
As our homes become increasingly connected, understanding your power requirements has never been more critical. Today's households rely on an expanding
array of electronics—from smart TVs and computers to sophisticated home automation systems—each drawing power that adds to your total electrical load.
Before you select a generator, you should conduct a thorough inventory of your essential devices. You must calculate their combined wattage to ensure your backup power system can seamlessly maintain your lifestyle during outages. In this way, you can transform a potentially disruptive emergency into a minor inconvenience.
Right-Sizing Your Generator: A 2000 Square Foot Home Case Study
Most 2000 square foot homes in the Memphis area share similar electrical profiles. Typically, these homes feature natural gas heating systems paired with either a single 4-ton air conditioning unit or dual systems (commonly a 2-ton and 3-ton combination).
For this configuration, a 20kW Cummins air-cooled generator delivers comprehensive coverage, powering your heating and cooling systems alongside all lighting and standard outlet circuits throughout your home.
Smart Load Management for Maximum Efficiency
While your generator can handle major appliances like ovens and clothes dryers, strategic load management prevents system overload. Our "Managed Whole House" approach allows you to prioritize critical systems while temporarily shedding high-demand appliances during peak usage periods.
Through this intelligent approach, you can maximize your generator's capabilities without compromising essential comfort and safety systems. For detailed insights into comprehensive backup power solutions, explore our complete guide to Whole House Generators.
Why Professional Sizing Matters
Electrical load calculations involve complex variables that can significantly impact your generator's performance and longevity. Rather than risk under-sizing or overspending on excessive capacity, professional assessment ensures optimal system selection.
The Benchmark Electric Advantage
We begin our comprehensive approach with an on-site consultation where your dedicated sales consultant evaluates your specific power requirements. We listen to your priorities—whether you need complete whole-house coverage or prefer to focus on absolute essentials.
During this assessment, we consider your lifestyle, critical systems, and budget to develop customized recommendations that align perfectly with your needs.
Quick Online Sizing Tool
While professional consultation remains invaluable, Cummins offers a convenient online generator sizing calculator for preliminary estimates. This tool provides helpful baseline information, though you should always confirm your selection with our generator experts before you make your final investment.
Ready to secure reliable backup power for your home? Contact Benchmark Electric today for your personalized generator assessment.
How Much Does It Cost to Replace An Existing Generator?
Ready to upgrade your old generator to a whisper-quiet, ultra-reliable Cummins model? The replacement cost depends on whether you're looking for a simple swap or a complete power upgrade for your home.
Same Size Replacement: Quick & Cost-Effective
If your current generator meets your power needs, replacing it with a same-sized Cummins unit is surprisingly straightforward. You'll only pay for the new generator itself, possibly an updated transfer switch, and professional installation labor. The best part? Our experienced technicians can typically complete the entire replacement in just one day, connecting to your existing wiring and gas lines seamlessly.
This means minimal disruption to your daily routine while gaining the peace of mind that comes with Cummins' legendary reliability.
Upgrading to Whole-Home Power: The Smart Investment
Many homeowners discover that their current generator only powers essential circuits—leaving them without air conditioning, electric water heating, or full kitchen functionality during outages. If this sounds familiar, upgrading to a larger whole-home generator transforms your outage experience completely.
While this option requires additional investment—including a reinforced concrete pad, properly sized electrical wiring, upgraded gas lines, and specialized installation equipment—the result is total home comfort during any power emergency. Installation typically takes 2-3 days, but the long-term value and convenience make it worthwhile for most families.
Built to Last Decades, Not Years
Here's what sets quality generators apart: longevity that protects your investment. At Benchmark Electric, we regularly service air-cooled generators that have been running strong for over 15 years. Our liquid-cooled natural gas and propane units show the same impressive durability, while diesel generators often provide reliable service for multiple decades.
Replacing an older generator with a new Cummins RS50 QuietConnect whole house generator.
Installation of a Cummins RS30 liquid-cooled natural gas/LP generator.
The secret? Professional maintenance and service. When properly cared for by certified technicians, your Cummins generator becomes a long-term asset that pays dividends every time the power goes out.
Ready to ensure your family never loses power again? Contact Benchmark Electric today for a free consultation on replacing your existing generator with a reliable Cummins system that will serve you for years to come.
The Onsite Assessment & Quote
The initial onsite assessment and quote will likely be scheduled with David Richey or Scott Lockwood. David is a Master Electrician and owner of Benchmark Electric. Scott has over 18 years experience as a skilled electrician with Benchmark Electric including generator installations and work crew supervisor.
Today, Scott and David handle most sales calls with Memphis-area homeowners and commercial business owners.
Most initial consultations typically last 30 minutes to an hour, though we adjust the time based on your specific questions and needs. We believe in taking whatever time is necessary to ensure you have all the information needed to make a confident, well-informed decision about your home standby power system.
Scott Lockwood is an experienced electrician with over 18 years experience installing backup generator systems. Today, Scott works with homeowners and businesses as a sales consultant.
One of the first things David or Scott will discuss with you is determining your power needs during an outage: "How do you envision using your home when the generator is running?" Your standby generator can be configured to power your complete home or focused on critical systems only. We're happy to provide pricing estimates for both full-house and essential-only coverage so you can make an informed decision.
Generator Sizing and Installation Considerations
When determining the right generator size and installation approach for your home, we evaluate several key factors:
Electrical Load Assessment
Home Size and Basic Power Needs
We analyze your home's square footage to understand the electrical demands for lighting and standard outlet circuits throughout the property.
Future Planning
We consider whether you're planning any home expansions or business additions that would increase your power requirements.
Major Appliances and Systems
Air Conditioning Requirements
We determine how many air conditioning units should operate during generator power by examining the nameplate ratings on each unit to calculate their exact electrical demands.
Heating Systems
While most Memphis area homes use gas heating, the distribution fans require electricity. For homes with electric heating systems, we review nameplate specifications to ensure adequate power supply.
Kitchen and Utility Appliances
We assess your oven(s) and clothes dryer(s), taking into account your preferences for operating these appliances during power outages.
Specialized Equipment
- Pool pumps are evaluated if present on the property
- Well pumps for rural homes are treated as essential equipment that must operate during outages
Installation Optimization
Fuel Source Positioning
To minimize installation costs, we typically recommend placing generators near your gas meter for natural gas units, or closer to the electric meter for diesel generators. Learn more about the differences in our comparison of air-cooled and liquid-cooled natural gas versus diesel generators.
Electrical Panel Configuration
The location and number of your main breaker panels determines how many automatic transfer switches (ATS) will be needed for complete whole-house coverage.
Placement Recommendations
Your Benchmark sales consultant will recommend the optimal generator placement to achieve the most cost-effective installation. While generators can technically be installed anywhere on your property, positioning them away from our recommended location will result in additional installation costs.
Ready to Get Started with an Onsite Assessment & Quote?
Call us today to schedule an onsite assessment at 901-590-4968, or use this online form to contact us.