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Generator · Longueuil
In Old Longueuil, Saint-Hubert or Greenfield Park, we connect your generator to the panel through a transfer switch, following the municipal fact sheet.
In short
Longueuil sums up its requirements in a simplified information sheet on generators, published in July 2025. It doesn’t cite the section of the zoning bylaw it stems from and states that it’s provided for information only: it’s a summary, not the legal text. Here is what it contains.
Not required on a regular residential lot
For a house on an ordinary lot, the sheet is clear: no municipal permit. On the electrical side, the master electrician still declares the work to the Régie du bâtiment du Québec.
Our page on automatic generators actually cites Longueuil as an example: no permit, but a 2 m distance from the lot line.
Side or back yard
The generator is installed beside or behind the building. It must stay 2 m from a lot line other than a street line when the building has fewer than 7 units.
For a building with more than 7 units, the distance goes up to 14 m. It’s 3 m from a line bordering a lot where housing isn’t allowed.
Soundproof enclosure, unit hidden from the street
Outdoors, every generator must have a shelter or a soundproof enclosure. The sheet doesn’t set a decibel limit.
The unit, enclosure included, must not be visible from a public road next to the lot. It’s hidden by a screen 1.8 to 2 m high (wood, PVC, chain link, wrought iron, prepainted metal, stone, masonry or tempered glass) or by plants such as conifers or evergreens.
A generator project? Three contact details and a few questions are enough.
Get a quoteLongueuil’s housing stock weighs on this choice. In the 2021 census, 66,605 of the city’s 113,085 households lived in apartments, or 58.9%, compared with 31.9% in single-detached houses.
In an older neighbourhood, the portable generator remains the most common choice for lack of outdoor space. We then install the transfer switch that lets you plug it in to code, rather than through a makeshift extension cord.
On a lot with a side or back yard large enough to respect the 2 m, a standby generator becomes possible, as long as it stays out of sight from the street and in its soundproof enclosure. It runs on propane or natural gas, never gasoline, and starts on its own when the grid goes down.
The transfer switch is the part that makes the hookup compliant. The model depends on the unit: manual for a portable, automatic for a standby.
| Comparison point | Manual transfer switch | Automatic transfer switch |
|---|---|---|
| Matching generator | Portable, plugged into an outdoor power inlet | Standby, installed outdoors on its base |
| Unit fuel | Gasoline, which you put back in the tank during the outage | Propane or natural gas, continuously |
| Who does the switchover | You, by hand | The switch itself, within seconds, then back to the grid when the power returns |
| Installed price at STM-Électrique | Price in the quote | Price in the quote |
The transfer switch price covers the switch installed and connected, nothing more: the generator, its base and the fuel are extra. We don’t publish prices for a generator or for an all-inclusive package: the quote, written and free, prices your case after the visit.
A manual transfer switch is worth operating once a year.
Rénoclimat: up to $1,000 to hook up a backup power source. Since October 1, 2026, Rénoclimat pays up to $1,000 for the labour of a master electrician who connects a backup power source to the panel of your principal residence, a duplex, a triplex or a building with at least four units. The Québec government describes this measure as connecting a “backup power source powered by renewable energy”: for a generator, have its eligibility confirmed by Rénoclimat before counting on this aid. The home must have been built and lived in for at least five years. The aid doesn’t cover buying the generator or the transfer switch. You apply yourself, no later than 12 months after the work. Rénoclimat 2026: up to $1,000 to hook up a backup power source
The heart of the job is the generator panel: an auxiliary panel that groups the circuits to keep powered. Among the priority circuits: the sump pump, the heating, the fridge and the freezer, with a little lighting and a few outlets. The dryer, the oven, the spa or the EV charger stay on the main panel, without backup.
Together, we choose what needs to keep running, taking the unit’s power into account. For a 60 A generator panel, the example we publish has one heating circuit, three lighting circuits and three outlet circuits.
The generator panel goes at the agreed spot, and the power inlet is installed outdoors, on the wall.
The chosen circuits leave the main panel for the generator panel, each one clearly labelled.
The transfer is tested, and we show you how to operate your installation.
Keep in mind that a 60 A panel doesn’t guarantee 60 A at the generator’s output: the unit’s actual power sets the limit.
On the day of the work, plan for a few hours without power: that’s the time it takes to install the transfer switch and move the circuits from one panel to the other. With a standby, the final test simulates a real grid failure: start-up, switchover, check of the backed-up circuits, return of the power and switch back. We finish with maintenance, then hand you the detailed invoice and the work report.
A propane or natural gas standby involves several trades. The gas connection, if there is one, is the job of a gas contractor we coordinate with. We do all the electrical part: transfer switch, auxiliary panel, hookup.
The base the unit sits on is the business of the general contractor or the supplier, as the case may be. On propane, plan for a real tank: Generac, the brand we install most often, requires at least 250 US gallons for a residential generator, and cylinders aren’t enough.
The unit’s warranty comes from its manufacturer: 5 years or 2,000 hours for Generac’s standard warranty. Everything we install is certified for Canada.
As for the schedule, the on-site work for a standby is counted in days, and the wait comes mostly from the fuel connection. A tip: don’t wait until November to start. The quote comes with a written schedule.
These three rules apply to every unit, portable or standby.
We serve Longueuil from our warehouse in Laval and our offices in Mirabel. No fixed price is given over the phone: a detailed quote reaches you within 24 to 48 business hours after the assessment, and you pay once the work is done, with no deposit.
Panels, service entrances, aluminum wiring and repairs in all three boroughs.
Load calculation, FLO charger installed and the Écorecharge rebate, for a house, a plex or a condo.
Portable, standby or a panel for the backed-up circuits: the setups we connect.
Elsewhere on the South Shore: generator installation on the South Shore.
Not on a regular residential lot: the municipal fact sheet of July 2025 says “permit not required”. The electrical work is still declared to the Régie du bâtiment du Québec by the master electrician.
2 m from a lot line other than a street line, for a building with fewer than 7 units. The distance goes up to 14 m for a building with more than 7 units, and to 3 m from a line bordering a lot where housing isn’t allowed.
No. The City’s fact sheet limits the location to the side and back yards. The unit must also stay out of sight from a neighbouring public road, behind a 1.8 to 2 m screen or plants such as conifers or evergreens.
Yes, for any generator installed outside a building. The sheet doesn’t give a decibel figure, but the shelter or enclosure isn’t optional.
Yes, a portable. In an older neighbourhood, it’s the most common choice for lack of outdoor space: we install a power inlet outdoors and a manual transfer switch near the panel. The unit runs outdoors only, never in the garage, at least 6 metres from buildings as Health Canada recommends, with a working carbon monoxide detector in the house.
A gas contractor. We coordinate with them and do all the electrical part, but the gas portion isn’t ours.
With us, the price of a 60 amp manual transfer switch or an automatic one, installed and connected, is in the quote. The generator, the base and the fuel are extra.
Generator · Longueuil
The right transfer switch, the circuits that matter and a location that follows the City’s fact sheet, priced in writing.
Your contact details and three or four quick questions. Not sure of an answer? Leave “Not sure” and we’ll check on site.