Berthoud has no generator specialist of its own in the local results — the three businesses holding the map pack are all based in Loveland. That does not mean the work is identical from town to town: Berthoud runs its own building department, has adopted the 2024 I-Codes, requires a Town business licence and a contractor licence, and takes permits through its own portal. Precision Service Electric installs Generac standby systems in Berthoud and handles the Town, the fuel and the sizing as one job. Call 970-593-3190.
Why a Berthoud House Loses Power
Berthoud sits between the foothills and the plains, which is where wind arrives first and stays longest. Overhead distribution takes limbs down in summer storms and snow load in winter, and rural addresses on the edge of town can sit further from the nearest recloser than a subdivision lot does. The result is not usually a week-long outage; it is a series of four-to-twelve-hour ones that ruin a freezer, a sump pump or a furnace.
The other reason people call is narrower and more urgent: a medical device, a well pump, or a home office that cannot go dark during a scheduled repair.
What a Standby System Does That a Portable Cannot
A standby generator sits outside on an approved base, runs on natural gas or propane from the property, and starts by itself when utility power fails. An automatic transfer switch disconnects the house from the grid and connects the generator; when power returns, the switch transfers back and the unit shuts down and cools.
A portable needs a person, a cord and fuel. It is a reasonable tool for a job site and a poor substitute for a system that has to protect a house while nobody is home — and back-feeding a panel with a suicide cord is both dangerous and a code violation.
The Transfer Switch Decides What Actually Stays On
Whole-Home
A service-rated switch carries the entire panel, so nothing has to be moved by hand during an outage — provided the generator is sized for that load, or the system includes load management that sheds the largest circuits while the generator runs.
Essential Circuits
An essential-circuits switch covers a chosen list: furnace, refrigerator, well pump, a few lights. It costs less, and it is not the same thing as whole-home backup with automatic load shedding. Under the code the unit is sized for the maximum load the transfer equipment can connect, whichever arrangement is chosen.
Load Management
Shedding modules let a smaller generator serve a bigger panel by dropping specific loads — the air conditioner, the range, the EV charger — while they run. It is a design decision made before the unit is ordered, not an accessory added later.
Fuel: Xcel Gas or a Propane Tank
Berthoud’s electricity and natural gas both come from Xcel Energy (800-865-4999), so a natural-gas unit needs no tank and no deliveries. Rural addresses outside the town can fall to Poudre Valley REA for electric, which is worth confirming on the bill before assuming anything about the service.
Propane makes sense where gas service does not reach the property or the existing line cannot carry the added load. It needs a tank sized to the runtime you want and a regulator at the generator, and it changes the unit’s rated output — the same model is rated differently on gas and on propane, and the sizing has to use the fuel actually installed.
Sizing: What the Calculation Actually Looks At
Sizing starts from the load the transfer equipment can connect, then adds motor-starting allowances for the air conditioner, furnace blower, well pump and refrigerator compressors. A house with electric heat and an electric range needs a larger unit than the same square footage with gas appliances.
The common failure here is a unit sold from a square-footage chart, or one sized to the panel rather than to the load — a 22 kW generator behind a 200-amp service that never draws more than 12 kW is money spent on capacity nobody uses.
Berthoud’s Permit and Licence Chain
Permits come from the Town of Berthoud Building Department at 807 Mountain Avenue, PO Box 1229, Berthoud CO 80513 — 970-532-2643, with applications and inspections through the Town’s CommunityCore public portal. The Town has adopted the 2024 I-Codes.
Two licensing points matter before work starts. Companies conducting business in Berthoud need a Town business licence, and contractors need the Town’s contractor licence; the Town also publishes the contemporaneous review procedure for electrical and plumbing licences required under state law (HB 19-1086 / SB 19-156), which is the mechanism by which licensing is checked during the permit and inspection process rather than as a separate approval.
On a generator install the electrical scope — transfer switch, generator circuit, grounding — is inspected, and the gas connection is inspected as part of the same project. The final inspection looks at clearances from the structure, labelling, and the transfer operating correctly.
What a Standby System Costs
The one published figure worth quoting in this region is a contractor’s: MSI Mechanical, a Northern Colorado company, lists total installed cost for residential standby systems at $7,500 to $18,000+. Equipment-only prices that circulate online describe the box, not the installation — the base, the gas line, the transfer switch, the permits and the labour are the rest of the number, and none of it is a Precision Service Electric quote.
Where a particular house lands depends on unit size, transfer-switch type, fuel, distance from the gas meter and the panel, and permit fees.
Maintenance After the Install
A standby generator is an engine that idles for months and then has to carry a house. Most controllers run a weekly exercise cycle; oil and filter service, plugs, battery condition and an annual load test are what keep the unit dependable. We service Generac systems and other brands, including units another company installed.
Related Work
Generac equipment and service is covered on the Generac page. The same scope in neighbouring towns is on the Longmont, Loveland and Greeley generator pages; our service area covers the rest of Northern Colorado. If you are closer to the larger towns, the Fort Collins and Windsor generator pages describe the same scope there.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit for a standby generator in Berthoud?
Yes. The work is permitted through the Town of Berthoud Building Department and inspected, and the gas connection is part of the same project.
How big a generator does my house need?
It depends on what the transfer switch can connect and on motor-starting loads, not on square footage. A gas-heated house needs less than the same house with electric heat and an EV charger.
Can a standby run my air conditioner?
Only if it is sized for the starting current, or if load management sheds the compressor while other loads run — a design decision made before the unit is ordered.
Is natural gas available in Berthoud?
Xcel Energy supplies both electricity and natural gas in Berthoud. Rural properties outside town can be on Poudre Valley REA for electric, which is worth checking on the bill.
How long does installation take?
The mechanical work is usually a day or two once equipment and permits are in hand; elapsed time is driven by permit review, equipment lead time and the gas connection.
Do you service generators you did not install?
Yes — all brands, including systems installed by other companies: maintenance, repair and load testing.
“The most professional and responsive Electrical Service company you can find. This was quite a complicated project. Calvin the lead electrician was here to quote the same day we called and the job was completed in 4 hours a week after we accepted the quote.”
Request a Generator Quote in Berthoud
Send a photo of the meter, the panel and the proposed generator location, and the sizing conversation starts with what is on the wall. Precision Service Electric is family owned, in business 30 years, licensed and insured under Colorado license #3918, factory-trained and an authorized Generac dealer, and rated 4.8 stars across 47 Google reviews. Call 970-593-3190 or request a quote.