Quick answer: Most whole-house generator installations we complete around Frisco, Prosper, McKinney and Celina cost between $14,000 and $26,000 installed. That price covers the Kohler generator, an automatic transfer switch, the pad, gas and electrical runs, permits, startup and testing. Where your home falls in that range depends mostly on generator size, how far the generator sits from your gas meter and electrical panel, and whether Atmos Energy needs to upgrade your gas meter.

Why is it so hard to find a straight price online?

Because every property is different, most installers prefer to quote in person. We get it. A number on a website can turn into a sore subject when the real quote comes in higher.

The national cost guides don’t help much either. One major cost site lists whole-house generators of 22 to 48 kW in Dallas at $5,000 to $42,000. That range is so wide it tells you almost nothing.

And “it depends” doesn’t help you plan. So here’s how we actually build a price, line by line, and the handful of things that push a quote up or down. When you sit down with us for a free consultation, you’ll see the same breakdown on your own proposal.

One thing to know about how we work: we’re a small, family-owned company. No warehouse, no call center, no fleet of wrapped trucks. That lower overhead is the reason we can price competitively. It also means we have no reason to push you into a bigger generator than you need, and we’ll show you the math to prove it.

What’s included in an installed generator price?

An installed price should cover everything it takes to go from an empty side yard to a generator that starts on its own when the power drops. If a quote leaves any of these out, ask why.

Line item What it covers What moves the price
Generator The standby unit itself (we recommend Kohler and also install Generac) Size in kilowatts (kW)
Automatic transfer switch (ATS) Senses an outage and switches your home to generator power Amperage (200A vs. 400A service), load management modules
Pad and placement A level composite or concrete pad, set to code clearances Slope, access, how far the crew has to carry equipment
Gas line Pipe from your gas meter to the generator Distance, pipe size, trenching vs. running along the house
Electrical Wiring from the generator to the ATS and panel Distance, conduit route, panel location
Gas meter upgrade Atmos Energy swaps in a larger meter if yours can’t supply enough gas Whether your current meter is big enough
Permits and inspections City electrical and gas permits, inspection visits Your city’s fee schedule
Startup and walkthrough Factory startup, load testing, showing you how it works Usually fixed

Notice that only one of those rows is the generator. On a lot of jobs, the site work moves the final number more than the jump from one generator size to the next.

Why do two homes on the same street get different quotes?

We see this all the time in Prosper and Frisco. Two houses, same builder, same floor plan, and the quotes come out a few thousand dollars apart.

The usual reason is distance. A generator has to sit in a safe spot. Kohler’s installation guidelines, based on the NFPA 37 fire code, generally call for at least 18 inches from the house, with the exhaust end at least 5 feet from windows, doors and vents. The generator also needs a gas line and an electrical run back to your meter and panel. If your gas meter is on the left side of the house and your panel is in the garage on the right, someone is trenching across the back yard. Every extra foot means more pipe, more wire, more digging and more restoring of sod and sprinkler lines.

Other things that shift a quote:

  • Pool equipment, AC condensers or a fence line taking up the “obvious” spot
  • Sprinkler lines and landscaping the crew has to work around and repair
  • HOA screening rules, which are common in master-planned neighborhoods like Windsong Ranch, Star Trail and Phillips Creek Ranch
  • A main panel that’s full or older and needs work before a transfer switch can go in

Our Prosper generator placement walks through how we choose a spot. If your yard is tight, start there.

How does generator size change the cost?

Air-cooled generators up to 26 kW cover most homes and sit in the lower and middle part of our price range. Larger liquid-cooled units, such as 38 kW and up, cost more, and very large homes can land above the top of it.

The number of AC systems drives sizing more than square footage does. Most homes we see in Frisco, Prosper and McKinney, with two AC systems, need something in the 20 kW to 26 kW range when paired with smart load management. Load management lets the generator cycle large appliances (like a second AC unit or a pool pump) so a mid-size unit can carry the whole house without overloading. Larger homes with three or more AC systems, an electric range and a pool sometimes need 38 kW to 48 kW if the owners want everything running at once with no load shedding.

Our take: a lot of homeowners get quoted a bigger generator than they need. On many homes with two or three AC systems, a 26 kW unit with load management carries the house through a summer outage just fine. A 38 kW unit on that same house costs more up front, burns more gas and spends most of its life lightly loaded.

That’s why we start every quote with a load calculation instead of a guess based on square footage. You can see the full Kohler standby generator lineup we work with, from air-cooled home units to liquid-cooled models for large properties. Wondering how Kohler compares with Generac? We answer that in our Kohler vs. Generac comparison.

Does Atmos Energy need to upgrade my gas meter?

Sometimes, yes. A standby generator pulls a lot of natural gas when it’s running at full load, especially at the same time as your furnace, water heater and gas range. Many residential meters were sized only for those household appliances.

If the math shows your meter can’t supply enough gas, Atmos Energy has to install a larger one. We handle the load calculation and the paperwork, but Atmos controls its own schedule, and that wait is one of the most common reasons a project takes longer than people expect.

Skipping this step is one of the ways a low quote stays low. An undersized meter or gas line can leave the generator unable to carry its rated load right when you need it.

What do permits cost in Frisco, Prosper and McKinney?

Permits are a small part of the total, usually a few hundred dollars or less. Texas also changed the rules for home backup power in 2025.

Under SB 1252, cities have much less say over the installation of home backup systems of 50 kW or less, which covers nearly every home standby generator. You still need permits for the electrical and gas work, and the city still inspects the electrical service connection and the gas piping. A second law, SB 1202, lets qualified third parties such as a master electrician handle plan review and inspection for home backup power installations, which can help avoid long waits at a busy permit office.

Each city in our area handles this a little differently, so we confirm the current process and fees for your city when we build your proposal. We pull every permit ourselves. If an installer suggests skipping the permit to save time, walk away. An unpermitted generator can cause problems with your homeowner’s insurance, and it can come up when you sell the house.

Is the cheapest quote the best deal?

Usually not, and it’s worth knowing where the savings come from. When a whole-house generator quote is thousands below everyone else’s, it often means one of these:

  • No real load calculation, so the generator or gas line ends up undersized
  • Nobody from the company on site during the install, and nobody accountable after it

Our model is different. One or both of our owners are on site for every installation. Our tradesmen are master licensed with decades of experience, we’re fully insured, and we stay in touch long after the job is done. (We also like to surprise customers with a small thank-you gift. If we spot golf clubs in your garage, don’t be shocked when a box of premium golf balls shows up.)

Can I finance a whole-house generator?

Yes. We offer financing options, including lower monthly payment plans and promotional financing for qualified buyers. Terms change, so we go over what’s currently available during your consultation.

For a lot of families, spreading a $14,000 to $26,000 project across monthly payments makes it a much easier decision than waiting until after the next outage.

Is a whole-house generator worth the cost in North Texas?

For most of our customers, yes. Big outages here are rare, and the ones we get tend to be bad. Winter Storm Uri in February 2021 left more than 4.5 million Texans without power, some for as long as four days. During the May 2024 derecho, Oncor reported more than 650,000 customer outages in North Texas. Ice storms, wind and falling limbs cause smaller local outages almost every year. A few days without power in January can mean frozen pipes. In August it can mean a home that’s unsafe for elderly parents or anyone with a medical need. (Our winter storm generator guide covers the cold-weather side in detail.)

Two other reasons homeowners give us:

  • They work from home and can’t lose internet and power for two days
  • They travel and want the house protected whether they’re home or not

If you’re on the fence, ask us. If a portable generator or a smaller system makes more sense for your situation, we’ll say so.

How do I get an accurate quote?

Book a free consultation. It’s the first step of our standby generator installation process. We’ll walk your property, look at your gas meter and electrical panel, run a load calculation and talk through what you actually want powered during an outage. Then you get a written proposal with each line item broken out.

To speed things up, it helps to have:

  • A recent electric bill
  • A photo of your main electrical panel with the door open
  • Your HOA’s rules on equipment screening, if you have one

Ready for a real number? Call Cornerstone Power Solutions at (972) 246-8216 or schedule a free consultation. No pressure. We size to your load, and you get a straight quote from a local, family-owned team that lives here too.