Forest Hill · Toronto Hydro service area
Generac standby power for Forest Hill homes
Forest Hill's old trees are part of its character, and falling branches are a familiar cause of outages on leafy streets. A standby generator keeps a large house warm, dry and running until Toronto Hydro restores power. We install Generac standby units as an authorized dealer.
Why Forest Hill owners add one
Old trees, overhead lines, large houses
Forest Hill's streets are lined with mature trees, and many of them are now enormous. They shade the houses and frame the streets. In a wind or ice storm, they also bring branches down onto overhead lines. The December 2013 ice storm left much of Toronto in the dark, some homes for days.
A large house has more to lose in a long outage. Finished basements hold family rooms, gyms and wine storage, and a sump pump guards them. Boilers and furnaces need power to run. Security systems, fridges full of food and the home office all stop together.
A standby generator senses the outage, waits a moment, then starts and takes over through the transfer switch. When Toronto Hydro's power returns, it hands the house back and shuts down.
Sizing
Whole-home, or large essentials with load management
A big house can be fully backed up, but it doesn't always need to be. Here's how the two common setups compare.
| Whole-home unit | Large essentials with load management | |
|---|---|---|
| What runs | Everything, including central air | Heating, sump pump, kitchen, key rooms; big loads take turns |
| Unit size | Matched to the full service | Smaller, because loads are managed |
| Footprint | Larger pad and clearances | Smaller, easier to place discreetly |
| Suits | Owners who want no change in an outage | Owners who can live without some loads for a few hours |
Placement
Where it can sit on a Forest Hill lot
Lots here are generous by city standards, but houses still sit closer to their neighbours than the front lawns suggest. The unit must clear windows, doors, air intakes and the property line by set distances. Manufacturers add their own spacing for airflow and service.
We start with a site walk and a tape measure. The best spot is usually beside or behind the house, close to the gas meter and the panel, and out of view from the street. Where the gas line or the cable must cross the yard near a large tree, we route around its roots. Toronto's tree rules can require a permit for digging close to a protected tree.
Installation
From site walk to the first outage
Site walk
Panels, gas meter, possible pad locations and every clearance.
Load list and sizing
What must run, what can wait, and the unit and transfer switch to match.
Permits and gas
ESA filed by us, the gas fitter booked, any tree or heritage questions raised.
Install
Pad, generator, transfer switch and wiring.
Inspect and test
ESA inspection, a test under load and a walkthrough of an outage.
The panel behind it
Check the service before the generator
A generator connects through your panels. In a house with several sub-panels added over the years, the transfer switch has to be planned around all of them. If the service is old or full, a panel upgrade in Forest Hill may come first, or in the same project.
For how standby systems work across the GTA, read our backup generators page.
Before winter
Book the site walk in the fall
Time for sizing, permits, the gas connection and a test before the first storm.
Get a price rangeQuestions
Backup generators in Forest Hill: questions
Will a standby generator bother the neighbours?
Placement makes most of the difference. We look for a spot away from your neighbours' windows and patios that still meets every clearance. The weekly self-test is short, and on many models you can choose the day and time it runs.
Can the generator be kept out of sight from the street?
Usually. Most units here go in a side or rear yard. Landscaping can screen one, as long as it leaves the airflow and service clearances the manufacturer requires. On a designated property, ask the City whether any visible equipment needs heritage approval.
We travel a lot. How will we know the generator ran?
The transfer switch starts it automatically, whether you're home or not. Many current models can also send status alerts to your phone. If yours can, we set that up and show you how it works before we leave.
Is your work guaranteed?
Every job comes with our 1-year workmanship warranty. Products carry their own manufacturer warranties on top of that, and standby generators can be covered by extended manufacturer warranties.
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