• Largest cities
• Local notes
• Models & pricing
• Which model
• FAQs
• Get a quote

Largest cities we serve in Will County, IL

The table lists eleven of the largest municipalities that are wholly or mainly in Will County, with 2020 U.S. Census populations. Several of these cities and villages straddle a county line, so the figure is the count for the whole municipality, including the portion in the neighboring county, and the note says which. Distances are miles (straight-line) from the nearest GSHA office, which for every Will County town in the table is Lake Bluff; anything past 50 miles is outside our standard radius and is quoted case by case.

Installing a KOHLER generator in Will County, IL

Natural gas: Nicor Gas and the load check

Nicor Gas lists Will County among the counties it serves, and its service-area page names a number of Will County communities and townships; village websites in the county likewise name Nicor as the natural-gas provider. Nicor describes its territory as roughly 17,000 square miles across the northern third of Illinois, with 2.3 million customers in more than 650 communities. For a generator installation, that means our gas technicians size the run from your Nicor meter to the unit and check whether the meter and service line can carry the new load on top of your furnace, water heater and other gas appliances. KOHLER’s air-cooled units draw from 179,000 BTU/hr (10RESV) to 290,000 BTU/hr (26RCA) at full load, which is why a meter upgrade by the utility is sometimes needed; we coordinate that with Nicor before the installation date. Every model we install is field-convertible to propane, so a home outside Nicor’s lines can run the same generator from a tank.

Electric service: ComEd and the transfer switch

Electric service in Will County comes from ComEd (Commonwealth Edison); village resident guides in the county list ComEd as the electricity provider. The automatic transfer switch is the piece that ties a KOHLER generator to a ComEd-fed panel: it isolates the house from the utility line during an outage so the generator never feeds back toward ComEd’s crews, then returns the home to utility power when service is restored. For whole-house coverage on a 200 A service we use a service-entrance-rated switch, and the RXT switch adds load management, which is what lets the 12RESV carry one air conditioner and the 26RCA carry two. Details are on our KOHLER automatic transfer switches page. The county has recent outage experience: on August 13, 2026 it announced recovery resources after a series of storms, including the severe weather of August 11, that caused damage and power outages in several communities, with the county’s EMA director describing the damage and outages as significant.

Permits: the county for unincorporated areas, the village or city inside municipal limits

The Will County Building Ordinance (sec. 150.003) applies to buildings and equipment “located outside the limits of cities, villages and incorporated towns” of the county, so a property inside a municipality gets its generator permit from that city or village, while an unincorporated property is permitted by the Will County Land Use Department, Development Services Division, Building Section, at 58 East Clinton Street, Suite 100, Joliet, IL 60432 (815-727-8634, building@willcountylanduse.com). The county runs a SmartGov Public Portal where contractors apply, submit documents, schedule inspections and pay fees. The county has adopted the 2018 International Residential Code, the 2017 National Electrical Code, the 2018 International Fuel Gas Code and the 2018 International Mechanical Code, with amendments in the 2021 Will County Building Ordinance. The ordinance does not name standby generators specifically, but sec. 150.003 requires a permit in advance for any electrical installation or heating equipment installed, altered or converted outside municipal limits, and sec. 150.110 requires a permit for all electrical work, so a generator and its transfer switch fall under those rules; the gas piping is governed by the adopted Fuel Gas Code, and we confirm the submittal list for each job with the Building Section. Sec. 150.110 also requires copper wiring on the load side of the meter and EMT conduit throughout structures, and the county issues electrical permits only when a licensed and bonded electrical contractor is listed on the application. Since 1993 every contractor working in unincorporated Will County has had to be registered with the Land Use Department, carry insurance and post a $10,000 surety bond, with electrical contractors and plumbers also filing a Letter of Intent for the property. KOHLER’s units can be set as close as 18 in. from the house under NFPA guidelines, subject to local codes, which we confirm with the permitting authority during the estimate. GSHA pulls the electrical and gas permits, whether the county or a municipality issues them, and schedules the inspections as part of every installation.

Sump pumps and drainage: the first circuit on the list

The county’s own ordinance (sec. 150.070) requires drain tile around any foundation that encloses below-grade space, connected to a sump pump that discharges to an approved drainage facility or at least ten feet from the house, and it forbids tying footing drains or sump pumps to a sanitary sewer or septic system. A home built to that standard with a basement or crawl space depends on its sump pump, and an electric pump does not run during an outage unless it has backup power. The county’s Comprehensive Stormwater Management Plan (1998) describes two river basins, the Des Plaines to the north and west (478 square miles within the county, with the DuPage River as a major tributary) and the Kankakee to the south and east (368 square miles). It reports that most chronic flood problems were along the DuPage River and in one area along the Des Plaines, that in many parts of the county local drainage flooding is a bigger problem than river overbank flooding, and that there is considerably more flood-prone area than the FIRM maps show, because only floodplains draining roughly a square mile or more are mapped. In practice the sump pump goes on every Will County load list we build, and even the smallest unit we install, the 10RESV, is sized to carry it.

Wells and septic outside the service areas

The Will County Health Department’s Environmental Health Division permits and inspects private water wells and septic systems; in FY2018 it logged 2,010 water program activities, 1,166 sewage program activities and 138 septic permits. The Health Department page does not say what share of homes are on wells, but if yours is, the well pump is a motor load that has to be counted in sizing, because a home on a private well has no water when the pump has no power. The county’s Land Resources Management Plan (2002) steers new development toward municipalities and existing sewer and water service areas while preserving agricultural districts and rural character, and the 1998 stormwater plan notes that population is concentrated in the northwest portion of the county and thins toward the south (based on 1990 data). Wells and septic are therefore a standard question on every estimate we run outside a municipal water and sewer service area, and the answer changes both the model we recommend and where the unit and its gas line can go on the lot.

KOHLER models and installed pricing

About “installed from” prices. Every KOHLER generator is a custom installation. The “installed from” price is our starting package for that model (generator, standard automatic transfer switch, standard gas and electrical connections, permit handling and start-up). Your final price depends on generator placement, gas line size and length, electrical panel condition and local permit fees, so we confirm it with a free on-site estimate before any work begins. KOHLER’s published MSRP for the generator alone runs from $3,946 (10RESV) to $7,546 (26RCA).

Which KOHLER model fits homes in Will County

Which KOHLER model fits a Will County home

Because the county’s code puts basements and crawl spaces on sump pumps, and homes on a private well depend on a well pump, the sizing question in Will County is usually essentials plus the sump pump versus the whole house with air conditioning, with the well pump added wherever it applies. All five units we install run on Nicor natural gas or propane, include the RDC2 controller with the KOHLER Energy Management app, and carry a 5-year/2,000-hour limited warranty covering parts, labor and travel, with 7- and 10-year extended plans available. KOHLER recommends its cold-weather kit below 32 F; we recommend it for every northern Illinois installation and price it at the estimate. Full specifications are on each product page.

• KOHLER 10RESV (9 kW natural gas / 10 kW propane), installed from $8,000: essentials only, meaning furnace, refrigerator, sump pump, well pump and lights; its 30.6 x 28 in. steel enclosure suits tight side yards.
• KOHLER 12RESV (11 / 12 kW), installed from $8,500: the same essentials plus one air conditioner with load management, in the same narrow footprint.
• KOHLER 14RCA (12 / 14 kW), installed from $9,000: entry whole-house coverage for small and mid-size homes; KOHLER rates it to start and run a 5-ton air conditioner.
• KOHLER 20RCA (18 / 20 kW), installed from $10,500: whole-house coverage for most 2,500 to 4,500 sq ft homes with one central air conditioner, with 41 kVA of motor-starting capacity.
• KOHLER 26RCA (24 / 26 kW), installed from $12,000: the largest air-cooled KOHLER, for large homes running two air conditioners with load management, a well pump, an electric range or an EV charger.

The free on-site estimate includes a load count, so you do not have to pick a model before we visit. Read why we install KOHLER, and see our KOHLER service and maintenance page for what happens after start-up.

Will County KOHLER FAQs

Which Will County towns are inside your standard 50-mile radius?

Five of the eleven towns in the table are inside the standard 50-mile radius of our Lake Bluff office, which is the nearer of our two offices for all of Will County; Bolingbrook, at about 42 miles (straight-line), is the closest. Joliet is about 53.5 miles, so it and the other towns in the roughly 52-to-56-mile band are quoted case by case rather than turned away, and the table marks which is which. Call (224) 220-3660 with your address and we will tell you what applies to your street.

Do I need a permit for a standby generator in unincorporated Will County?

Yes. The Will County Building Ordinance requires a permit in advance for electrical installations and heating equipment outside municipal limits and requires a permit for all electrical work; the county issues an electrical permit only when a licensed and bonded electrical contractor is listed on the application, and every contractor working in unincorporated Will County must be registered, insured and bonded with the Land Use Department. Permits come from the Land Use Department’s Building Section at 58 East Clinton Street, Suite 100, Joliet (815-727-8634) through the SmartGov Public Portal; inside a city or village, that municipality issues the permit instead, and GSHA handles the application and inspections either way.

Will Nicor Gas need to upgrade my meter for a standby generator?

Sometimes. Nicor Gas lists Will County in its service territory, and a KOHLER air-cooled generator draws from 179,000 BTU/hr for the 10RESV to 290,000 BTU/hr for the 26RCA at full load, on top of your furnace, water heater and other gas appliances. Before installation our gas technicians check whether your Nicor meter and service line can supply that demand; when they cannot, we arrange the meter upgrade with Nicor and coordinate it with the installation date. If your property is outside Nicor’s lines, every model we install is field-convertible to propane.

Will a KOHLER generator run my sump pump and well pump during an outage?

Yes, and in Will County both belong on the load list: the county ordinance requires basements and crawl spaces to drain to a sump pump, and the county Health Department permits and inspects private wells and septic systems. The 10RESV is sized for the essentials, including a sump pump and a well pump along with the furnace, refrigerator and lights; if you also want air conditioning, the 12RESV adds one AC with load management and the 14RCA and larger units cover the whole house.

What does the installed-from price cover for a Will County home?

Each starting package covers the generator, a standard automatic transfer switch, standard gas and electrical connections, permits and start-up: installed from $8,000 for the 10RESV, $8,500 for the 12RESV, $9,000 for the 14RCA, $10,500 for the 20RCA and $12,000 for the 26RCA. A longer gas run, a Nicor meter upgrade, a service-entrance-rated switch, the cold-weather kit or a location beyond our 50-mile radius can change the figure, which is why we confirm the price with a free on-site estimate.

Other county pages: McHenry County · Boone County · DuPage County · Kane County · Cook County · Lake County · full KOHLER service area

More: how installation works and what is included · service and maintenance · transfer switches and accessories · why KOHLER

Sources: Wikipedia: Will County, Illinois (2020 Census populations, county population and area) · Nicor Gas: Where We Are (service territory including Will County) · Village of New Lenox: Guide for New Residents (Nicor gas, ComEd electric) · Village of Homer Glen: Utilities (Nicor gas, ComEd electric) · Will County Land Use Department, Development Services Division: Building (permits, adopted codes, SmartGov portal) · Will County Building Ordinance sec. 150.003 (permit requirement outside municipal limits) · Will County Building Ordinance sec. 150.110 Electrical Requirements · Will County Building Ordinance sec. 150.070 Concrete Requirements (drain tile and sump pumps) · Will County Land Use Department: contractor registration FAQ · Will County Comprehensive Stormwater Management Plan (September 1998) · Will County Health Department: Safe Water, Wells and Septic Systems · Will County news release, August 13, 2026: resources for residents impacted by storms · Will County Land Resources Management Plan excerpts (Appendix C, approved April 18, 2002) · GSHA Services KOHLER dealer site. Distances are approximate miles from the nearest GSHA office.

About GSHA Services, LTD

GSHA Services, LTD is a licensed and insured electrical, heating, cooling, plumbing and generator contractor and an authorized KOHLER generator dealer (listed on KOHLER’s dealer site). Offices: 1257 Cobblestone Way, Suite A, Woodstock, IL 60098 and 11 N Skokie Hwy, Suite G18A, Lake Bluff, IL 60044. Phone (224) 220-3660. Email info@gshaservices.com. We sell, install, service and repair KOHLER home standby generators across the northern Chicago suburbs and southeastern Wisconsin. Contact us · All service areas · Financing

Request a free KOHLER generator quote

Send your details below and we will follow up to schedule a free, no-obligation in-home consultation. You can also book online, call (224) 220-3660, or email info@gshaservices.com.