Backup Power in
Whole-home battery backup and standby generators for Old Town, the Neck and the rest of Marblehead, planned around the town's generator and historic district rules.
Build Your Power PlanMarblehead buys its power from its own municipal light department, and that department does a good job. Even so, the town has lost power in storms, in a heat wave and on an ordinary spring morning, and the Neck depends on one causeway that floods.
Boston Backup Power is a division of Boston Automations in Norwood. We design and install RoseWater Energy systems, Savant Power and Generac and Kohler standby generators, and licensed electricians and gas fitters make the connections.
Authorized RoseWater Energy Dealer. Authorized Savant dealer. Authorized Generac and Kohler partner. Updated .
Storms and outages in Marblehead
On July 2 and 3, 2026, during a heat wave, about 1,000 Marblehead customers lost power, most of them on the Lafayette circuit. Crews rebuilt about 1,500 feet of damaged line and had everyone back by about 3 a.m., roughly 12 hours after it began. The light department tied the failure to high loads stressing weak points in the equipment. A cooling shelter opened at the Brown School.
Storms do the rest. In the October 27, 2021 nor'easter Patch reported an overnight townwide outage in Marblehead. In the December 23, 2022 storm about 140 customers lost power on Jersey Street, Evans Road, Vassar Road and West Orchard Street, where a branch toppled a pole. At high tide waves topped the causeway seawall, washed across the Devereux Beach lot, and flooded Front Street, Fort Beach and State Street Landing.
Who supplies the power
The Marblehead Municipal Light Department supplies the town, not Eversource or National Grid. The town's generator requirements ask you to notify the light department when a generator goes in, and a battery or solar interconnection application goes to the department too.
Which system fits a Marblehead home?
We install all three, so we can recommend the one that suits the house and the budget.
Savant Power
For an Old Town house that wants battery backup for a set of circuits, Savant Power goes into the existing panel and keeps everything inside, which suits the historic district well.
Relay modules in your existing panel and Savant Power Storage batteries, so you choose which circuits get backup power and see your usage in the Savant app. Modules typically run $2,000 to $10,000, and battery backup $10,000 to more than $100,000.
Standby generator
A standby generator is a good fit on a larger lot with room for screening. Marblehead has specific rules on generator noise, clearance and screening, so we plan the location with them in mind.
A Generac or Kohler standby generator on natural gas or propane that starts on its own when the power goes out. Most installs run $7,500 to $20,000.
Where the equipment goes in Marblehead
Marblehead Neck is reached by one road, the causeway along Ocean Avenue, and storms have closed it at high tide, as they did three times in two days in March 2013. A regional transportation list rates that causeway at extreme risk of inundation. If you live on the Neck, plan for outages where crews may not be able to reach you right away.
Old Town houses sit close together on small lots, many of them in the historic district. An indoor HUB or battery cabinet avoids most of the exterior questions. A HUB needs about 3.5 by 3 feet of floor and 8 feet of height, plus 36 inches clear in front, in a dry spot above any flood level.
Permits in Marblehead
Marblehead's building department requires a generator to sit on a solid, stable surface above any flood hazard area, with its exhaust 10 feet from any forced air inlet and clear of buried utilities and rights of way. The same sheet cites Zoning Bylaw 200-27, which requires a special permit from the Board of Appeals for exterior equipment louder than 60 decibels at 20 feet, or at the nearest residential building if that is less. It also asks for 5 feet of clearance to combustible material and windows, screening with low fencing or evergreen planting, notice to the light department, and the mechanical, gas, electrical or fire permits that apply.
In the Old and Historic Districts, the commission's guidelines ask that large exterior equipment not be visible from a public way, and it has ordered visible heat pump and air conditioning units moved on Front Street. A generator in Old Town needs a spot that works for both.
How to start
For a RoseWater system, start with the Power Plan. For Savant Power, use the Savant quote form. For a standby generator, use the generator quote form. If you are not sure which one fits, use the contact form or call (781) 333-8003 and we will talk it through. We reply within one business day.
Questions about backup power in Marblehead
Does a generator in Marblehead need a special permit?
Does a generator in Marblehead need a special permit?
If it is louder than 60 decibels at 20 feet, or at the nearest house if that is closer, the zoning bylaw requires a special permit from the Board of Appeals. We check the unit's published sound level against the actual spot before you commit, and a battery system avoids the question entirely.
We are on the Neck. What happens if the causeway closes during an outage?
We are on the Neck. What happens if the causeway closes during an outage?
Crews may not reach you until the tide drops, so your system should carry the house without help. A HUB keeps the protected circuits on with no gap, and a generator or solar can keep the battery charged through a long outage.
Our house is in the historic district. Can we still have backup power?
Our house is in the historic district. Can we still have backup power?
Yes. A battery system goes inside and does not change the exterior. If you also want a generator, it needs a location the historic district commission accepts, usually out of view of the street.
Ready to plan backup power in Marblehead?
Tell us about the house and what has to stay on. We visit, size the system and give you a written proposal. We reply within one business day.