Standby generator financing programs for authorized dealers and electrical installers. Offer homeowners flexible payment terms on whole-home backup generators and automatic transfer switches.
Generator financing for dealers lets you offer homeowners monthly payment options for whole-home standby generators, automatic transfer switches, gas line runs, and concrete or composite pads, while a participating lender funds the loan and collects the payments instead of your business.
Contractor Financing Solutions gives your dealership a personalized financing application that connects homeowners with a network of participating lenders. Customers can check their loan offers during the in-home load assessment or right after they receive your quote. Depending on the program, the lender pays your company when the loan funds, or it funds the homeowner, who then pays you under your installation contract.
With non-recourse financing, the lender generally assumes the homeowner’s repayment risk, subject to the applicable agreements. Your sales reps keep sizing systems and writing proposals, and your electricians and gas techs keep setting units, while the lender handles billing and collections.
Financing slots into the site visit and quote you already do: walking the property, checking the meter and panel, measuring setbacks, and sizing the unit to the loads the homeowner wants to keep running. The homeowner types their own information into the online application, so your comfort advisors and installers never collect pay stubs or Social Security numbers.
Funding timing varies by lender and program. Depending on the lender, funds may be released after the loan documents are signed, after the installation is complete, or in stages on larger jobs. Confirm that a loan has funded before you order a liquid-cooled unit, book the gas utility’s meter upgrade, or treat an installation as paid.
Recent outages have run long, and homeowners remember them. The U.S. Energy Information Administration found that electricity customers averaged about 11 hours without power in 2024, nearly twice the average of the prior decade, with Hurricanes Beryl, Helene, and Milton driving much of that total. Those are the weeks when your phones ring hardest.
The urgency is real, but so is the price. HomeAdvisor puts standby generators at $5,000 to $25,000, and the transfer switch, gas line, pad, and permits can sit on top of the equipment price. Without a payment option, many buyers shrink the system to a few essential circuits, switch to a portable unit and an interlock, or tell you they’ll call back after the next storm. A monthly figure lets your rep show the right-sized whole-home system next to the bare-minimum option and let the homeowner choose.
Financing also helps when the scope grows after the walk-through. If the main panel needs replacing, the gas meter is undersized, or a propane tank has to be set, the homeowner can fold that work into the same loan or pair a smaller loan with cash. Offering it on every quote, rather than only when someone hesitates, keeps the conversation consistent across your sales team.
The examples below show how the loan term affects the monthly payment and total interest on project sizes that match common standby generator jobs, from an air-cooled unit with a basic install to a larger liquid-cooled system with electrical upgrades. They use a hypothetical fixed 14.99% APR with no fees. Real terms depend on the lender, the borrower’s qualifications, and the loan amount, and not every lender offers every term shown.
| Project Amount | 60-Month Payment | Total Interest (60 mo.) | 120-Month Payment | Total Interest (120 mo.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $8,000 | About $190/mo | About $3,417 | About $129/mo | About $7,482 |
| $15,000 | About $357/mo | About $6,406 | About $242/mo | About $14,029 |
| $25,000 | About $595/mo | About $10,677 | About $403/mo | About $23,382 |
| $35,000 | About $832/mo | About $14,948 | About $564/mo | About $32,735 |
Examples assume a fixed 14.99% APR, no fees, and full financing of the stated project amount. These are mathematical illustrations, not loan offers or guaranteed terms. Actual loans may include fees that affect the amount received or the total cost of borrowing.
For the $25,000 example, a 10-year term brings the payment down by about $191 a month compared with five years, but the homeowner pays about $12,705 more in interest. With a real customer, show only the offers a lender actually makes.
Generator sales come in waves. A big storm or a long heat-wave outage can fill your calendar for months, then demand cools until the next one. Each job also pulls in several trades: an electrician for the transfer switch and any panel or meter work, a gas fitter or propane supplier for fuel, a pad set, permits, and a utility inspection. Bringing up financing at the first appointment helps homeowners decide on the system they need instead of the one they can pay for in cash this week.
Financing may help in these common generator sales situations:
Code requirements also shape the installation price. The National Electrical Code requires an emergency shutdown device for permanently installed generators at one- and two-family homes. In the NFPA 70 (NEC) 2023 edition, Section 445.19(C) says that device must be outside the dwelling at a readily accessible location and marked as the generator emergency shutdown; a shutdown mounted on the outside of the generator enclosure also qualifies. States and towns adopt NEC editions on their own schedules, so check which edition your local inspector enforces. Adding code-required items, permits, and inspection fees to the proposal, and showing the monthly payment for the full job, keeps homeowners from comparing your complete quote against a competitor’s unit-only price.
Standby generator pricing depends on the kW rating, air-cooled versus liquid-cooled design, fuel type (natural gas or propane), the transfer switch and how many circuits it manages, distance from the gas meter or tank, pad and setback requirements, and whether the electrical service needs an upgrade. HomeAdvisor reports that generator installations average $5,156 across all generator types, but whole-home standby systems sit well above that average.
The table below shows typical national ranges for standby generator equipment and the related work your crews install. These are estimates from HomeAdvisor and Angi, not quotes for a specific home.
| Equipment or Project Scope | Typical Cost |
|---|---|
| Standby generator, all sizes | $5,000 to $25,000 |
| 20 to 24 kW generator (unit) The common air-cooled whole-home size class | $5,000 to $6,500 |
| 36 to 48 kW generator (unit) Units over 30 kW require liquid cooling | $14,000 to $21,000 |
| Professional generator installation labor | $1,500 to $5,000 |
| Automatic transfer switch, installed | $600 to $2,500 |
| Concrete generator pad | $50 to $75 per square foot, or about $1,000 for an 18-square-foot pad |
| New gas line | $15 to $30 per linear foot |
Sources: HomeAdvisor (June 2026) for generator, installation labor, pad, and gas line costs; Angi (October 2026) for transfer switch installation. Before comparing generator quotes, check whether the price includes the transfer switch and how many circuits it manages, panel or meter upgrades, gas meter upsizing or a propane tank, the pad, the outdoor emergency shutdown, permits and inspections, startup and registration, and the first maintenance visit.
Homeowners shopping for backup power usually weigh a few ways to cover the cost. Knowing how each one works helps your reps answer questions during the in-home visit without giving financial advice.
| Payment Method | How It Works | When It May Fit |
|---|---|---|
| Cash or savings | The homeowner pays the deposit and final balance from their own funds. There’s no application, credit check, or interest, but a large purchase can drain an emergency fund right before storm season. | Transfer switch add-ons, maintenance plans, or homeowners who can pay for a full system and still keep reserves |
| Credit card | The homeowner charges the deposit or a smaller invoice to an existing card. Interest may apply when balances carry past the grace period, limits often fall short of a full install, and your business may pay processing fees. | Deposits, annual service visits, battery or controller repairs, or amounts the homeowner can pay off quickly |
| Home equity line of credit (HELOC) | A credit line secured by the home. The lender reviews credit and property value before the homeowner can draw funds. Rates are usually variable, and closing can take 45 to 60 days with traditional lenders. | Planned off-season installs, or larger projects that pair a generator with other home upgrades, when the homeowner has equity and can wait |
| Independent personal loan | The homeowner finds an unsecured loan on their own through a bank, credit union, or online lender. Rates, fees, limits, and how the money is paid out vary by lender. | Homeowners who already have a lending relationship and prefer to arrange borrowing themselves |
| Contractor-offered financing | The homeowner applies through the dealer’s personalized financing link and compares offers from participating lenders. When the loan funds, the money goes to the dealer or the homeowner, depending on the program. | Whole-home standby systems, liquid-cooled upgrades, and complete installs with fuel and electrical work, up to $100,000, when the homeowner wants to see monthly payments before signing |
Your reps can walk through these options without recommending which one suits the homeowner’s finances.
Some participating lenders work with applicants whose credit isn’t perfect, including scores from about 570, but approval is never certain. Lenders look at credit history, income, debt-to-income ratio, and other factors, and since each lender uses its own criteria, a single application lets the homeowner see what more than one lender will offer. Loan amounts, APRs, and terms can differ widely from one offer to the next.
If the offer comes in below your quote, talk through honest ways to close the gap. The homeowner could add a cash deposit, choose an air-cooled unit with a load-management transfer switch instead of a larger liquid-cooled model, or back up essential circuits now and expand coverage later. Never cut code-required work, such as the outdoor emergency shutdown, proper clearances, or a permitted gas connection, to fit a loan amount, and never coach a customer to misstate income or other application details.
Contractor Financing Solutions helps standby generator dealers and electrical contractors offer third-party customer financing without running an in-house payment plan. From your personalized financing link to lender-managed repayment, the process fits the way generator companies size systems, coordinate fuel and electrical work, and work through storm-driven backlogs.
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Generator financing for dealers gives homeowners a way to pay for whole-home standby generators, transfer switches, and the fuel and electrical work around them in monthly installments, with funds going to your dealership or the homeowner when the loan funds, depending on the program. Participating lenders make the credit decisions and collect the payments, so your team can put a monthly price on every quote, before the storm or after it, without becoming a lender.
Disclosure: Contractor Financing Solutions is not a lender and does not make credit decisions. Financing is offered by independent participating lenders. Loan approval, available amounts, APRs, repayment terms, and funding timelines vary by lender, borrower qualifications, and applicable state requirements. Checking available offers uses a soft credit check that won’t impact credit scores; a hard inquiry may occur only if a borrower chooses an offer and submits a full application. Non-recourse arrangements are subject to the applicable lender and contractor agreements and do not eliminate obligations arising from fraud, refunds, cancellations, or contractual disputes. All project costs and payment illustrations are examples, not guaranteed prices or offers of credit. Information about regulations is general and does not constitute legal, tax, or financial advice.
Estimate potential returns from offering customer payment plans.
Additional Monthly Revenue
Revenue: $90,000 → $120,000
Disclaimer: Results are estimates for illustrative scenario planning only and do not guarantee future revenue, approval rates, or closing percentages. Actual revenue will vary based on customer creditworthiness, project scope, lender terms, and merchant processing fees.
Offer monthly payments to homeowners in three simple steps, without becoming a lender or handling customer loan payments.
Share your link by text, email, estimate, or in person. Homeowners complete one quick application to explore offers from multiple lenders, starting with a soft credit check that won’t affect their credit score.
Every estimate you send without a monthly payment option is a deal you’re leaving to chance. Get started with Contractor Financing Solutions and give your next homeowner an easier way to say yes.
