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After the emergency has passed, scrupulously remove fuel from the generator. Run the machine dry and drain gas out of the carburetor and fuel lines. Chemically deteriorated fuel can leave residue that makes restarting the generator difficult. A portable generator is a convenient way to safely produce your own power when the grid goes down, either due to natural or man-made causes. Whether you’re new to using a generator, or well-experienced, there are a few things you need to know to operate it safely. Always check that your generator’s exhaust points away from windows, doors, and vents.
How to Hook Up a Generator
A transfer switch will prevent damage to your wiring, electronic devices, and your generator. Make sure that your generator is outside or in a well-ventilated area, then start it up. Now, you can turn on breakers on your transfer switch one at a time to power up your home. To control the amount of wattage being drawn from your generator, all you have to do is turn one breaker on and another off. That way, you can keep your entire house plugged in to the generator, but only draw power when you need to use a particular appliance. Ultimately, this allows you to use a smaller portable generator to power your home.
Avoiding Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
You would need to move the generator outside away from your home, add fuel, start it, and connect it to your home with a transfer switch or extension cords. While this is not difficult to do, some people find it inconvenient. A licensed electrician should install the transfer switch and inlet box into your home and connect them with the main breaker box. Your Powerlite dealer can recommend a good electrician if you need assistance.
Do you have to turn off your main breaker when using a generator?
Now that you know how to connect a generator to your house, there are a few safety tips and precautions that you should keep in mind. There are many different wiring techniques for connecting a generator to a house. For example, a microwave uses 1500 watts, but a complete circuit of lights with CFC bulbs needs only 150 watts. After you’ve determined which appliances and devices you need to power, the next step is to consider their wattage or power consumption. This will help you determine the size of the generator you need.
Hooking Up a Generator to the Home
Each of these has their pros and cons, but all essentially work the same. A Power Supply box is then installed to the outside of your house (where your generator will be connected) and then wired to the transfer switch. When the power goes out, you simply hook up your generator to the Power Supply box and turn on the Transfer Switch. You can now select which electrical components of your house you’d like to power up via your main electrical panel.
How to Hook up a Generator to Your House: Installation, Safety, & More
Otherwise, since you’ll be moving around in the dark during an outage, it’s a good idea to keep the generator cord located with your generator or transfer switch. A portable generator is a simple and inexpensive option for keeping your lights and appliances running when the power goes out to your house. Finally, because portable generators are smaller than a home standby, they may not be able to power everything in your home. Most homeowners work with an electrician to decide which items are most important – like the refrigerator, stove, and hot water heater. You may have more items on different circuits than the generator is capable of powering at the same time. However, using a transfer switch will make it easy to switch between different loads.
Some vendors can guide you through this process so that you’ll be confident in your choice. A transfer switch is a separate breaker panel that you install next to your main breaker panel. When your electric service goes out, you plug your portable generator into an outdoor outlet that’s connected to a transfer switch inside the house.
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If you have a universal transfer switch, you’ll also need to program in the priority levels of different appliances. The other use of a transfer switch is to make power management easy. The transfer switch acts much like your home’s circuit breaker, allowing you to load different rooms, outlets, or appliances on different sub-breakers. You control which outlets are on which sub-breaker when you install the transfer switch.
The Ultimate Westinghouse WGen9500 Gasoline Portable Generator Review
Find out whether your generator has a twist-lock plug or a straight-blade plug. This detail matters because it decides which kind of power inlet box you’ll need for a safe connection to your home circuit panel. Being prepared is key to keeping your home running smoothly during a power outage.
Quite a few people put off installing a portable generator transfer switch because of the expense, only to have difficulty utilizing a standby power source when the need arises. If you have a small house and space outdoors, it may be enough for you to plug essential home appliances that use standard three-prong plugs directly into the generator’s outlets. Bypassing the utility grid in this way to directly supply power indoors has its own set of risks. Loose cables, plugs, exposed terminals, and live wires can cause serious injuries. If you do choose to draw power straight from your generator, use properly rated outdoor extension cords.
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These clever devices ensure power flows smoothly without dangerous overlaps, making them critical for reliable and responsible energy management during outages. Generators produce carbon monoxide, which is a deadly gas. To prevent carbon monoxide poisoning, don’t use the generator in enclosed spaces.
We encourage you to consult with qualified professionals before making decisions based on the information provided here. Test your system every few months to make sure it’s ready when you need it. This keeps essential appliances running without interruption. Make sure this matches up with the needs of the home appliances that you want to power. Televisions consume less than 1000 watts, depending on the type and size of the device.
Knowing how this system works helps when hooking up a portable generator for backup power. It’s important because you want the right amount of power going to the right places without causing damage. More importantly, power transfer systems energize entire circuits instead of appliances. They can power hard-wired appliances - like air conditioners, furnaces, security systems, and lights. What isn't so obvious is that extension cords are time-consuming and potentially hazardous to use, especially during a blackout in a heavy storm. In fact, using the wrong gauge, length, or a worn out wire can be outright deadly, posing shock and fire hazards.
Rick is an engineer and manager, he’s used generators his whole life and specializes in fact checking our articles. Chad is a writer and webmaster helping to keep things running smoothly on the site. Read more about Rick and Chad, or send a message using this contact form. Powerlite can help but contact a local electrician first, the right direction from the beginning is best. So in conclusion you will need to know what you need to run, where you intend to install of store your genset, how you will maintain your genset. You’ll want to keep in mind that because the generator must exercise itself monthly, it will be using fuel.
It’s a hot topic and many people want to know if backfeeding a generator is safe? The truth is that it can severely damage your home’s electrical wiring and even cause a fire if done improperly. It’s also illegal, since backfeeding power into your home can actually electrocute any technicians who are working on electrical lines elsewhere on the grid. All of your electrical outlets and lights will run just as they did before the power outage. These generators are significantly more expensive than a portable generator. The installation cost can also be very expensive – often similar to the cost of the generator itself.
Many homeowners think about how to use a generator when the power goes out at home. They invest in portable gasoline-powered generators to keep the lights on during an emergency. You can plug appliances and medical devices directly into your generator, but if you want to send power to your home’s electrical outlets, an intermediary device is a necessity. This mechanical device minimizes the risk of fire, damage, and electric shock to your wiring, yourself, and other people. The most popular way to hook up a generator to your house is via a transfer switch. There are 3 different types of transfer switches to choose from, which are; automatic transfer switch, manual transfer sub panel and a breaker interlock panel.
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