My name is Dennis Hart, owner of Ready, Set: Power!. Having been personally involved in over 1000 generator installations, I thought I would give my perspective on the latest changes made as part of the release of the Briggs & Strattor PowerProtect+ standby generators.
The Briggs & Stratton PowerProtect+ 26kW Standby Generator delivers the highest starting power in the industry, with enough capacity to run large appliances like your air conditioner while keeping the rest of your home powered during outages.
Their industry-inclusive, front-facing exhaust system directs fumes away from your home. This safer design allows for greater installation flexibility.
PowerProtect+ generators are engineered and tested to meet the highest quality standards for reliable performance in the harshest conditions. With built 24/7 EnergyTrak™ remote monitoring, it’s easy to track your generator’s status anytime from anywhere.
I believe the “+” after PowerProtect was added when they included the monitoring in the generator rather than having your friendly neighborhood dealer install it in the field. We are really excited about this step and can’t wait to get my hands on one soon. They were released last week- just as we ran out of 26kw generators. Right now, their turn around times have been very fairly quick with one notable exception. The EnergyTrak modules that we have been installing all over town are backordered. We have 10 more on order. We already have most of them pre-committed.
So why all this fuss about monitoring? I have been of the opinion for several years that monitoring has become critical and will need to become standard for all standby generators. We are so committed to monitoring generators that I have a stated goal of having 100% of the generators we maintain will be connected to our monitoring program. We always get calls from customers who are suddenly concerned about their generator a few days or hours ahead of a pending storm. Without monitoring, we would need to talk through the customer’s maintenance and there is a chance they will go into the storm with less peace of mind than either of us prefer. typically, as long as the generators have been running their weekly exercise and it’s in “auto” mode, it’s ready. With a monitored generator, we are keeping track of the exercise cycles and verifying that everything is “Ready.” The Energy Trak system just got several new features and a whole new interface earlier this year. We have been installing them on Briggs, Generac, and Kohler systems.
The new PowerProtect+ also turned the exhaust to the front left of the generator. They also added louvers to the intake side instead of the screen. One of the neatest thing they did is they kept the rest of the structure the same. So I believe that means that body panels with continue to be removable all the way around. We love being able to remove the back cover to have easier access to the rear spark plug. It’s pretty tricky to get access on a Guardian series Generac. It’s pretty common to see tears in the insulation above the rear spark plug.
On the new design, instead of the exhaust blowing to the left just like every other 16kW+ generator, Briggs decided to exhaust to the front. Having planned thousands of installations, I can assure you this is big deal. We are really good at planning programs, and we find a way 90%+ of the time, but there is a big difference between what the “code” says and what is truly practical and safe. When a generator exhaust is pointed toward the outside unit of a central A/C, the exhaust might get caught up in the upward air current created by the A/C and now you’re blowing exhaust into your eaves and possibly your attic. The way I was trained was to always avoid exhausting toward an A/C unit. We go through all sorts of placement challenges involving the exhaust. We have been know to turn a generator around to push the exhaust into the backyard rather than down the side of the house. Front-facing exhaust will likely increase the changes of more suitable and dare I say, “safer” installations. We always recommend that everyone, whether they have a portable or standby generator, you should always have at least one carbon monoxide detector in your home.
If you’ve been considering a standby generator, we’d love to help. We will assess your property and provide a turnkey quote.
Is the Briggs and Stratton PowerProtect+ the right generator for you? We can help you decide. We install, service, MONITOR and maintain all brands of standby generators. Ready, Set: Power! Not a moment too soon.