Posted: May 19, 2025
With a bit of luck and some mild weather, you won’t need to call upon your home’s standby generator too often throughout the year. But when a power line in your neighborhood goes down, or soaring summer temperatures cause a grid overload, you want to be 100% certain that your generator is ready to go. With proper maintenance, your home generator can provide reliable service for 25 to 30 years. That said, you need to take care of it.
In Orange County and throughout the Hudson Valley, New York’s Capital Region and Western Vermont, Main-Care Energy installs, maintains and repairs gas-powered standby generators. Here are four general tips for ensuring your generator is ready when the grid fails.
Just like you wouldn’t leave your car collecting dust in a garage for months on end, it’s important to give your standby generator a test run occasionally. To keep your system running smoothly, we suggest conducting a 20 to 30-minute test every few months. This helps ensure optimal performance and allows oil to circulate effectively throughout the system.
For more specific testing guidelines, consult your owner’s manual or talk to a Main-Care pro.
Your generator needs adequate space to operate safely and reliably, but Mother Nature often likes to encroach on outdoor equipment. So, take a moment at the beginning of each season to remove any debris, leaves or overgrown plants surrounding the generator. Maintain a minimum clearance of five feet from any flammable materials for safety.
You don’t need to be an electrician or HVAC professional to give your home’s standby generator a routine visual inspection. Your manual can outline specific things to look for, but here are some general upkeep tips for our eyeball inspection:
If you notice any leaks, corroded batteries or other wear or damage that could impair the reliability or safety of your generator, contact our team right away for a service visit.
While homeowners can handle a certain amount of generator upkeep themselves, these systems need professional maintenance at least once a year. Main-Care Energy offers comprehensive maintenance and repair service for generators. In particular, our customers love our Generator Protection Plan. With this service plan protection, you receive:
With a Generator Protection Plan, you can have total peace of mind that your system will run at peak performance whenever you need it.
Interested in enrolling your generator in a service plan? Need to schedule your annual generator maintenance? Contact our team today. We’re here for your home comfort needs and always deliver 360° of Service!
