The snowbird’s generator checklist: before you leave, while you’re away, when you return

A generator is a machine that sits outside, in Florida weather, for months at a time, and is expected to start on the worst night of the year. The difference between a generator that starts and one that does not is rarely the generator. It is the schedule around it. This page is that schedule — what to do before you leave, what to do while you are away, and what to do the day you come back.

Before you leave: the departure checklist

Do this in the week before you leave. It takes an afternoon, and it is the highest-value afternoon of the year:

1. Confirm the generator is in automatic mode — not manual, not off. The switch is on the unit’s control panel. If it is not in automatic, the generator will not start when the power goes out, and nothing else on this list matters.
2. Run it once, and listen. Start the generator manually — or confirm its weekly exercise ran — and stand next to it for a minute. It should start promptly, run smoothly, and sound the same as it always has. A rough start, a new noise, a warning light: call a technician before you leave, not after you return.
3. Check the fuel. If the house is on natural gas, there is nothing to check — the supply is the utility’s. If it is on propane, confirm the tank level. A tank at 30% is a tank that may not last a long outage. Fill it before you leave.
4. Confirm the exercise schedule is set. The generator should exercise weekly — a short automatic run that keeps the battery charged and the engine lubricated. Confirm it is enabled, and note the day and time it runs, so a missed exercise is noticeable.
5. Check the battery age. If the battery is three years old or older, replace it before you leave. A battery is the most common reason a generator fails to start, and a three-year-old battery is a bet you do not need to make.
6. Clear the area around the unit. Vegetation, stored items, debris — clear two feet on every side. A generator needs airflow, and a blocked intake is a fault waiting for a hot day.
7. Note the fuel shutoff and the main breaker. Write down where they are, and leave the note where your property manager or neighbour can find it.
8. Set the thermostat for an empty house. The usual setting is 78–80°F — cool enough to control humidity, warm enough to save energy. Do not set it to off. An air conditioner that is off does not dehumidify, and a house that is not dehumidified is a house growing mold.
9. Open the monitoring app and confirm it works. Check that the generator appears, that the last exercise is logged, and that the battery voltage is shown. If the app shows nothing, fix it now — from your own house, with your own Wi-Fi — not from a hotel in October.
10. Tell one person. Give a neighbour or property manager the generator company’s number, the monitoring app login if they need it, and permission to call. A generator that faults in July is a phone call. A generator that faults in July and nobody knows is a discovery in November.
11. Book the service visit for the week you return. Not for “sometime in the autumn.” For a date. A generator that has sat through a Florida summer, and possibly run through a storm, deserves an inspection before the next season. Put it on the calendar now.

While you are away: what to watch

The house is empty. You are watching it through two things: the generator’s monitoring app, and the person you told.

Check the app once a week. Not once a month, not when you remember. Once a week, on the same day. What you are looking for is simple: did the exercise run, and is the battery voltage steady. A missed exercise, or a voltage that is falling, is the earliest warning you will get — and it is the warning that costs the least to act on.

After a storm, check the app the same day. Did the generator run? For how long? Did it fault? If it ran for hours, the oil and the fuel need attention — and the house needs a check from the person on the ground. If the app shows nothing at all after a storm, do not assume the generator is fine. Assume the network is down, and call the person on the ground.

Keep the property manager’s number where you can find it in a hurry. The worst time to discover you do not have it is the night the app shows a fault code you do not recognise.

When you return: the arrival checklist

The day you come back, before you unpack:

1. Walk outside and look at the generator. Is it clean? Is anything blocking it? Is there a warning light on the panel?
2. Check the app. Did it exercise while you were away? Did it run? Is there a fault logged?
3. Run it manually, once, and listen. Same as the departure check. It should start promptly and run smoothly.
4. Check the house for what the generator was protecting. Open the fridge — is it cold? Check the thermostat — is the house at the temperature you set? Walk the rooms — any smell of damp, any stain on a ceiling?
5. Check the propane level, if the house uses propane. A storm season’s worth of runs can take a tank down further than you expect. Fill it now, while the weather is calm.
6. If anything on this list is wrong — a fault code, a missed exercise, a smell you do not recognise — call a technician before the next storm, not during it. The week you return is the calmest week of the year. Use it.
7. Keep the service appointment you booked before you left. The technician’s visit is the point at which the schedule resets: oil, filter, battery check, exercise confirmation. After it, the house is ready for the next season.

What the service side of this costs

The departure checklist is mostly free. The parts that cost money are the parts that involve a technician: an annual service visit runs about $350–$500 bought one-off, or $499–$695 a year on a published Palm Beach County-area service plan. A replacement battery runs about $200 or more. A full generator, installed and permitted, is $11,000–$17,000 — read the full Palm Beach County cost breakdown for the line items. The service plan page explains what a plan covers, and whether it is worth it for a house that sits empty.

Figures last reviewed November 2026 · Sources: Palm Beach County-area service plan pricing; manufacturer service guidance — see “How we get our numbers” on the About page.

The one thing people get wrong

People treat the checklist as a substitute for the generator. It is not. A checklist cannot keep the air conditioning running. What the checklist does is make sure the generator, when it is needed, is ready — in automatic, fuelled, exercised, and watched. The generator does the work. The checklist makes sure the generator can do it.

Related: What a power outage does to an empty house · Remote monitoring · Maintenance & service plans · Why generators fail to start

Palm Beach Backup Power is an information and matching service — we do not install generators. We do not take a fee from you. Our installer partner pays us when a consultation they receive through us becomes an installed generator. The price you pay is the installer’s price either way.