When a summer line of storms rolls up the I-83 corridor or an autumn nor’easter parks over the bay, BGE’s overhead lines through Towson, Pikesville, and Reisterstown tend to go dark first — and stay dark longest in the older tree-canopied neighborhoods. David Williams Electric installs Generac automatic standby generators for Baltimore County homeowners who are tired of hauling out the portable and babysitting extension cords at 2 a.m. As an authorized Generac dealer with a Maryland master license (#11734) and 30-plus years in the trade, David sizes, permits, and wires the whole system himself, gives you the price before any work starts, and stands behind it with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.
Why standby power makes sense in Baltimore County's older housing stock
A lot of Baltimore County’s housing predates the 1970s — the brick Cape Cods and ramblers around Parkville and Catonsville, the postwar colonials in Towson, the larger center-hall homes out in Owings Mills and Reisterstown. Two things are common to those homes: utility power that arrives on overhead lines through mature oaks and tulip poplars (the first thing to fail when a limb comes down), and electrical service that was never planned around a whole-house generator. Before we quote a single watt, we look at what’s actually on your panel.
That older stock often means a 100-amp or early 200-amp service, a meter base that may need a junction added, and a gas situation that varies block to block — BGE natural gas on the more developed corridors, buried propane out toward the county’s western and northern edges. A standby unit running on natural gas never needs refueling; a propane install needs a tank sized to actually carry the load through a multi-day outage. We sort all of that on the site visit, not after the equipment shows up.
What a Generac install looks like, start to finish
A standby generator is more than a box on a pad. The heart of the system is the automatic transfer switch (ATS): it watches the utility feed, and within seconds of an outage it disconnects your home from the grid and starts the generator — no flipping breakers, no dragging cords through the snow. When BGE power returns, it switches you back and shuts the unit down on its own. That automatic handoff is also what keeps a lineman safe, because the transfer switch makes back-feeding the grid physically impossible.
David handles the load calc, the Generac unit and ATS selection, the pad, the gas line connection (natural gas or propane), and all the electrical — as the licensed electrician of record, not a salesperson handing it off to a sub. You get the full number up front: equipment, transfer switch, gas, permit, and labor, with no surprise change orders once the truck is in your driveway.
Permits and inspections — the part most homeowners don't see
A generator install in Baltimore County isn’t a plug-and-play weekend project — it’s permitted, inspected work. The electrical permit and inspection run through Baltimore County Permits, Approvals and Inspections (the office in Towson), and the gas connection has its own requirements depending on whether you’re on BGE natural gas or propane. Set-back distances from windows, doors, and the property line matter, and they’re exactly the kind of detail that gets a DIY or unlicensed install red-tagged.
Because David pulls the permit under MD license #11734 and meets the county inspector on site, the job is signed off correctly the first time — which also matters to your homeowner’s insurance and to the next buyer if you ever sell. You’re not left chasing a re-inspection or explaining unpermitted work at closing.
Frequently Asked Questions
How big a generator does my Baltimore County home actually need?
It depends on what you want to keep running, not your home's square footage. An air-conditioned Towson colonial with a well pump and an electric range needs more than a Pikesville rambler where you just want the fridge, furnace, sump pump, and a few circuits through an outage. David does a real load calculation on the site visit and right-sizes the Generac unit — oversizing wastes money, undersizing trips the generator when too much kicks on at once.
Will it run on my existing gas, or do I need a propane tank?
If your home is on BGE natural gas — common through the more built-up parts of Towson, Catonsville, and Parkville — the generator ties into that line and never needs refueling. Toward the county's western and northern edges (parts of Reisterstown and Owings Mills) many homes run on propane, in which case the tank has to be sized to carry the generator's load through a multi-day outage. We confirm which you have and handle the connection either way.
Do I need a permit, and do you handle it?
Yes, and yes. A standby generator install requires an electrical permit and inspection through Baltimore County's office in Towson, plus gas requirements depending on your fuel. David pulls the permit under Maryland license #11734 and meets the inspector on site, so it's signed off right the first time — no unpermitted work to explain to your insurer or a future buyer.
How long does the install take, and will my power be off the whole time?
Most residential Generac installs are a one-to-two-day job once the equipment and permit are in hand. Your utility power stays on for nearly all of it; there's only a short, scheduled interruption when the transfer switch is tied into your panel. David walks you through the timing up front so a working-from-home day in Essex or Owings Mills isn't a surprise.
What does a standby generator cost in Baltimore County?
There's no honest one-size number, because the price moves with the unit size, your transfer switch, and the gas and electrical work your specific home needs. What David won't do is quote you blind — you get a complete, itemized price after the site visit and before any work starts, backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee. The estimate is the price.
Serving Baltimore County
David Williams Electric provides generator installations throughout Baltimore County, including Towson, Catonsville, Owings Mills, Pikesville, Parkville, Essex, Reisterstown. Explore all Baltimore County electrical services or learn more about generator installations across Maryland. Call (410) 781-4357 for a free, up-front quote.
