We just hard-wired the house....now what?

[Laura]

My dh just hard-wired the house for the generator. So if we lose power we can still run the well pump and such.

Now that we have done this.....is there anything else I should do, to go along with this??

Thanks!
Laura

[randallhilton]

I hope your hard wiring included a switch which keeps the generator from energizing the power company lines. If the power goes out, someone is going to be working on those power lines and if your genny is making those lines hot, someone will get hurt.

[Anon001]

I hope your hard wiring included a switch which keeps the generator from energizing the power company lines. If the power goes out, someone is going to be working on those power lines and if your genny is making those lines hot, someone will get hurt.

Not only that, but if someone is killed, or worse, the homeowner would be liable.

[Laura]

I hope your hard wiring included a switch which keeps the generator from energizing the power company lines. If the power goes out, someone is going to be working on those power lines and if your genny is making those lines hot, someone will get hurt.

Thanks for the tip.....I will double check and get back with you!!

Laura

[NCLee]

Once you know your setup is safe, as mentioned above, put together a check list of what has to be turned off in your house before you fire up the generator. Don't forget that you probably have a lot of things that pull current all the time. Hot water heater, electronic equipment on standby even when the switch if turned off, refrigerator, freezer, etc.

Unless you have a whole house generator, you want to reduce the load to the bare minimum. And, work out your plan for alternating uses. For example, turn off the refrigerator when the well pump is running. Go over this with everyone in the household, so they'll know what to expect and with kids, what not to expect!

Next, work on your generator fuel storage and other associated supplies. If it's gasoline, be sure to include a gasoline stabilizer to prolong the life the the fuel.

Have a backup plan, in case the generator fails. My brother's died during a power outage following an ice storm. If your situation is anything like us, you'll surely get a visit from Murphy. So, continuing to prep as if you didn't have a generator, would be a good approach, IMHO.

Lee

[Laura]

Below is the reply to the question by randalhilton:




There is a 200 amp breaker for the power coming into the house. There is also a 50 amp breaker from the panel to the generator plug. When we run the generator, we will shut off the breaker connecting the house to the grid and turn on the breaker to the generator plug. When we have power like normal, the breaker to the generator plug is shut off and the 200A breaker is on.

We also have to shut off most of the normal circuit breakers when we run the generator to we don't overload it. We only turn on what we want to run.



PLEASE let me know if this is adequate or if I need to do something else.
Thank you so much randalhilton for bringing this to my attention!! I appreciate you time and input!

Laura

[DM]

IF you can turn the gen set breaker on and the main breaker on at the same time, you have a code violation. Maybe you don't care, but keep in mind that it can affect your insurance if you have a fire. (as in you won't have any insurance) Also, you are liable if anyone ever gets hurt when the gen set is hooked up, and in some locations it's out right against the law to have a gen set hooked up that way. Lots of folks do it, but all of them are taking a chance.

Also, you should have the gen set "grounded" while it's running the house, as in a rod driven into the ground and the genset wired to it.

DM

[NCLee]

DM, thanks for the note on grounding. We hope to be buying one soon. Planning to have an electrician hook it up, if we decide to engergize the whole house. However, I still like to know what he's going to be doing.

Question: Can the gen set be grounded to the service panel ground rod? Or, does it require a separate ground? I have two possible locations to set the gen and currently trying to determine which is the best due to the location of the main (service) panel and a relevent sub panel that's about 50' away. Well and furnace have breakers in the main, while the rest of the house is on a sub panel.

Thanks for your thoughts.
Lee

[DM]

I don't know what code is in your area, but think of it this way... If someone would plug in something that happened to be wired wrong, the ground would become hot. If that hot travels back to the panel, it can go out to the grid. (read lineman)

So, if your gen set shorts out or anything shorts out while the genset is hooked up, i don't think i'd want to feed that "hot" back to the same ground rod that the panel is wired to.

The way "I" get around ALL of this is, for powering the whole house, i pop the bottle off my meter before i hook my gen set to my house. Yes i know your not suposeto break the seal on the bottom of the bottle, but i've yet to have a complaint from a lineman working on my service when he see's my tractor running my PTO genset.

These days, it's seldom that we loose power here, although it has happen in the past.

DM

[NCLee]

Ah.... I "see"... make sense.

The electrician I use is a stickler for following the code. Don't find any fault with that, BTW. Based on what you said, I won't be surprised when he includes a new grounding rod to what he wants to install.

Thanks!
Lee

[12vman]

I had mine wired the same way. I just wired below the main breaker and hooked up my generator on the house side. I flipped the main when I ran the generator. I'm sure it wasn't to code but with a little common sense, there wouldn't be any problems.

I took a 7 watt bulb and hooked it to the grid side of the breaker that would come on when the grid came back. All I had to do was unplug from the generator and flip the main back on.

[cinok]

You should check the local code. You might be legal if you have to manually start the gen set. I know for a fact a Transfer switch is required almost everywhere when a auto start genset is used.

[Cat Lover]

I'm going to expand on some of the points raised so far in this thread.


First of all, I cannot stress enough the need to make DAMN sure that you cannot have power coming from the Power Company and the generator at the same time. A proper transfer switch is the way to go. Failing that, at least tie the breakers together so that they both can't be on at the same time.

There are two reasons for this. First, you don't want to make the 'dead' wire the lineman is fixing 'live' and kill him.
Second ... remember that AC changes over time, and that it's nearly impossible for your generator to be 'in time' with the power company. The result is your little generator will be fighting the power company's generator[ guess who's going to win that one! And the failure of your generator is likely to be very, very spectacular.

Simply 'remembering' to flip the right breakers, then 'plugging in' the generator isn't nearly safe enough.

Now, some generator notes:

1) Folks tend to buy more generator than they need. Bigger is NOT better; a generator runs best when it's run at about 80% capacity.

2) There's a reason some generators are cheap. That reason can be found in the way the voltage is regulated. Cheap generators don't do this very well. As a result, electronics can be damaged. When you're on generator power, confine your consumption to simple light bulbs, running motors, and making heat - and have the motors protected with surge protectors.

3) Generators need exercise. The most reliable way is for you to run your house on generator power for about a half-hour once a month.

[jebrown]

People:
In some areas it is called an isolater swithch and in other areas it is called a transfer switch.
Be smart and install one because if any one is injured yes, you can be held crimanally responsible.
If someone is killed then you could be charged with neglegent homicide.
There wre two lineman during Katrina and on during Rita electrocuted from on-line generators.
One guy who was responsible for one of he deaths during Katrina is in in prison.
Now days police officers, firefighters city/county workers and power company indviduals while attending to other business keep an ear out for generators. When they locate it they will have a qualfied inspector come out and inspect how your generator is connected. They call an inspector before coming onto your propety so you can't disconnect while waiting for an inspector.
If it is not connected to a isolator switch you wil be given a citation and it will run several hundred dollars.
when the inspector shows up he will go right to your generator and does not need your permission. Circuit breakes shut off will not be allowed. The reason is you migh forget to flip the circuit breakers or some one else could switch them back on without knowing what could happen.
Another thing to consider is "Do you relly want to deal with an over zealous civil servant or more during a disaster regardless of size or type?"

Jerry