Home generators in Hillsborough

Hillsborough is close to everything. It sits about a mile straight-line east of Brownwood Paddock Square along Hillsborough Trail, just west of Dunedin, with Lake Deaton to the south and Collier to the north. Hillsborough Recreation at 1828 Hillsborough Trail has an adult pool, bocce, horseshoes and shuffleboard. Manatee Recreation, a village center at 1512 Hillsborough Trail in Dunedin, and Big Cypress at 3110 Hendry Drive are close.

That closeness is a pleasure on a normal day. In a long outage, it helps less than you might think. The square and the centers depend on the same lines as your street, and after a big storm they may not keep usual hours. After Irma, about 43% of Florida gas stations were out of fuel on September 12, 2017, per GasBuddy data reported by Fox Business, so even short trips can turn into waits.

What a standby generator keeps at home:

• Food. The FDA gives a closed refrigerator about 4 hours and a full freezer about 48.
• Cooling. The CDC advises older adults to stay in air conditioning in very hot weather.
• Water. Hillsborough is on Central Sumter Utility per District Government. If a boil water notice goes out, 1 minute at a boil makes water safe, and a working stove does it.

Being near the square is still a gift. You just enjoy it more from a cool, well-stocked house.

Plan what stays on in your Hillsborough home

Hillsborough's first plat, Unit 220, was recorded December 21, 2012, and its homes on Nordic Lane and Wyngate Place were built in 2013. Units 216 and 217 followed on January 21, 2014. The village is mostly block and stucco or stucco designer and premier homes, such as a golf-front premier home on Bosie Run, a block home on Earl Way and a home with gutters and downspouts on Lemon Loop. A smaller 1,390 square foot frame home with vinyl siding on Infinity Run shows the range. Roofs are shingle.

Lots run about 0.13 to 0.27 acres, and a Nordic Lane pool home sits on about 11,600 square feet. Larger lots mean more choices, but a side yard often already holds equipment. The District 10 manual treats pool equipment, A/C units, mini splits and generators the same way: rear or side, 2 feet from property lines, concealed by fence or landscaping when visible from the street.

So the installer looks at the whole side yard:

• Spacing. Generac's clearance guidance, citing NFPA 37, wants 3 feet at the front and both ends of the unit and 5 feet from operable windows, doors and vents.
• Pads. Each pad stays no larger than necessary.
• Screening. One fence run can sometimes screen the pool pump, AC and generator together, no taller than the equipment.

On a golf-front lot like Bosie Run, the rear yard may work better.

Have an installer map your side yard equipment

Not every Hillsborough home has natural gas. Peoples Gas is the main gas utility in The Villages, so check for a gas meter on the house or a gas bill before deciding anything.

With gas, a Generac 26 kW draws about 188 cubic feet an hour at half load and 333 at full load, and runs as long as gas flows and oil is checked. Peoples Gas said its system was resilient through Helene and Milton. The installer checks that the meter can carry the generator with your other gas appliances.

Without gas, propane sets the clock. The District 10 manual allows one above-ground tank of no more than 120 gallons with approval, hidden from the road and neighbors, or an underground tank. A 120 gallon tank filled to 80% holds about 96 gallons:

• Generac 26 kW at half load: about 47 hours.
• Generac 22 or 24 kW at half load: about 38 hours, per its spec sheet.
• Full load on the 26 kW: about 87 gallons a day.

A buried tank holds more, but a fire marshal summary of NFPA 58 lists 10 feet from the building and a buildable property line. On a 0.27 acre lot that may be possible; on a 0.13 acre lot, less likely. A pool pump left off during an outage stretches any fuel. See natural gas vs propane.

Find out which fuel your Hillsborough home can use

Most local outages have cleared within days. Sumter County fell from 21,912 accounts out on the morning of October 10, 2024 to 5,966 two days later and zero by October 14, per Florida PSC reports. Elsewhere, Florida has seen far longer: Michael kept some Panhandle counties dark for about 26 days. NERC rates the Florida Peninsula at normal risk in its 2025 assessment, so the local concern is storm damage to lines, not a power shortage.

A plan for a Hillsborough home that holds for weeks:

1. Choose the loads. Air conditioning, refrigerator, freezer, lights, outlets and any medical equipment first. Leave the pool pump and dryer for later, or let load management handle them.
2. Keep the engine healthy. Generac asks for a 30 minute stop every 24 hours to check oil, per its continuous-use guidance, and an oil change every 100 hours in continuous running above 85 F. Kohler's 26 kW schedule checks oil every 24 hours and changes it every 150.
3. Know your fuel. On propane, write down your supplier's number and fill before the season. On gas, confirm the meter is sized.
4. Stock the house. Florida's checklist plans for at least 7 days of food, water and medicine.

Our long-outage maintenance guide lists the parts to keep on the shelf.

Build a long-outage plan with your installer