Sized right.
Quoted honest.
On the house.
A licensed electrician walks the property, runs the load calc, sizes the right Kohler or Generac unit for your home or building, and hands you a written itemized quote. No obligation, no upsell, no charge.
One per property. New customers, inside Calcasieu, Cameron, Jefferson Davis, and Beauregard Parishes. Owner/authorized adult on-site during the walk-through.
- →Licensed electrician on-site for 45–60 minutes
- →Load calc — what HAS to run when the grid drops
- →Unbiased brand walk-through — Kohler vs Generac trade-offs
- →Written itemized quote within 1–2 business days
The 8 things we lock in before quoting.
Every quote covers the same eight items. No skipping ahead, no guessing on sizing, no “ballpark” numbers that double once you sign. This is the spec.
- 01Load assessment
Walk the house with you and identify what HAS to run when the grid drops — HVAC, refrigerators, freezers, well pump, sump, medical equipment, lighting, garage door, security system — then calculate the running and starting loads to size the unit correctly.
- 02Fuel-source assessment
Natural gas hookup at the meter? Existing propane tank? Diesel? Each fuel changes generator availability, tank/line work, runtime, and ongoing fuel cost. We tell you which makes sense for your property and what the trade-offs are.
- 03Generator placement
NEC clearances from windows, doors, and combustibles. Exhaust direction. Foundation pad. Setback from the property line. Noise considerations. We confirm where the unit can actually sit and what that means for the install.
- 04Transfer switch sizing
Automatic vs manual, whole-home vs essential-loads-only. Cheaper isn't always better — we walk through the trade-offs (price, convenience, install complexity) so you pick what fits how you'll actually use it.
- 05Kohler vs Generac recommendation
We lead with Kohler — Babcock is a Kohler Home Energy Authorized Dealer, factory-trained, and Kohler's 5-year/2,000-hour warranty covers parts, labor, AND dealer travel. Generac is also good and we install it when supply, lead time, or customer preference makes it the right call.
- 06Permits + Entergy coordination
What the local AHJ requires for permitting, what Entergy needs to know for natural-gas tap-ins or meter cooperation, and the typical timeline. We handle the paperwork on the install — you don't chase permits.
- 07Annual maintenance plan
Standby generators need annual oil changes, exercise cycles, and battery checks to stay under warranty and to actually start when the grid drops. We tell you what's required, what we offer for service plans, and what you can do yourself.
- 08Written itemized quote
Within 1–2 business days you get a line-by-line written quote: generator unit, transfer switch, fuel infrastructure, install labor, permits, startup and commissioning, and ongoing service options. The number you see is the number you pay.
Four steps, start to finish.
- 1Book online or call
Pick a date and window — we'll confirm by phone or text within 2 business hours.
- 2Licensed electrician arrives
Same crew, same trucks. Plan for 45–60 minutes on-site to walk the property and run the load calc.
- 3On-site walk and Q&A
We measure, we ask about what matters to you during an outage, and we answer every question — fuel choices, install timeline, costs, warranty, you name it.
- 4Written quote in 1–2 days
Itemized, locked, no surprises. If you want it, we schedule. If you don't, we walk. No phone tag, no upsell.
Big-ticket purchase. Honest answer first.
Standby generators are not cheap. A typical whole-home install in SWLA runs $12,000–$22,000 once you add up the unit, the transfer switch, the fuel infrastructure, the install labor, and the permits. That’s a real number, and we’d rather you see it on paper before you sign anything — not after.
Most homeowners who reach out have already gotten one or two quotes from other contractors and don’t know which one to trust. The quotes don’t match. The recommended sizes don’t match. The brand pitches feel like sales pitches. We give you the load calc, the unbiased Kohler-vs-Generac walk-through, and the itemized quote, and then we walk away. If our number is the best, we earn the job. If not, you got a free reality check on what fair pricing looks like.
We’ve installed and serviced generators across SWLA since Rita. We’ve seen the units that start when they need to and the ones that don’t. We’d rather earn ten installs over the next ten years from neighbors who trust us than win a single sale by underbidding the load calc.
What people ask before booking.
- Is this really free? What's the catch?
- Yes, really free. Generators are big-ticket purchases — typically $8k for a smaller residential standby up to $20k+ for a whole-home unit with auto transfer switch — and we'd rather earn the install than charge you for the privilege of telling you what it'll cost. You get the quote, the load calc, and the unbiased fuel/brand walk-through whether you hire us or not.
- Kohler or Generac — which do you recommend?
- Kohler is what we lead with. Babcock is a Kohler Home Energy Authorized Dealer, our techs are factory-trained, and Kohler's 5-year/2,000-hour Premium Limited Warranty covers parts, labor, AND dealer travel for the full period — Generac's standard warranty doesn't include dealer travel. That said, Generac has bigger national share and broader parts availability, and we install it when supply, lead time, or customer preference makes it the right call. We'll walk through the actual trade-offs at the quote.
- What size generator do most SWLA homes need?
- For a typical 2,000–2,500 sqft home with central air, electric water heater, and standard appliances, you're usually in the 18kW–22kW range for whole-home coverage. Smaller homes or essential-loads-only setups can drop to 12kW–14kW. Larger homes with multiple AC units, pool equipment, or workshops can push 26kW+. The load calc is what nails it down — guessing is how people end up with a unit that won't start their AC.
- How long does the install take?
- Most residential installs run 1–3 days on-site, plus 2–6 weeks of upstream time for permits, utility scheduling, and equipment delivery. Natural-gas installs need the gas company to do the tap and meter upgrade — that timeline is mostly outside our control. We tell you the realistic full timeline at quote — not just the days we'll be at your house.
- Automatic vs manual transfer switch — what's the difference?
- Automatic transfer switch (ATS) means the generator senses an outage, starts itself, and switches your power over within ~30 seconds — totally hands-off. Manual transfer switch (MTS) means you walk outside, flip a switch, and start the generator yourself, and it powers only the circuits you wired into it (usually 6–10 essential loads). ATS is $1,500–$3,000 more installed but is the right choice if anyone in the house can't safely operate the manual setup, or if you want true unattended operation.
- Will my homeowner's insurance cover this?
- Generally no — standby generators are considered planned improvements, not covered repairs. Some insurers offer a small premium discount once you have a permanently-installed standby (worth asking your agent). For financing, Kohler offers homeowner financing through their dealer network and we can walk you through it during the quote if it's helpful.
Get the real number.
Pick a date and window. We’ll call or text within 2 business hours to lock it in.