If you live in an area where power outages occur regularly, or have medical or office equipment that could be affected negatively by power outages, then a portable or whole house generator can be the best way to remain powered up, even when an outage occurs. If you are hard wiring a portable generator to your existing home electrical system, a manual generator transfer switch is required for safe operation, and by law.
A manual generator transfer switch is designed to keep both you and utility workers safe, by preventing the electricity created via your generator to be released back into the electrical grid, thus powering the transmitter that feeds your home. Some transfer switches do this automatically, however a manual generator transfer switch must be activated prior to the starting of a generator manually.
Most individuals who are wanting to provide power to items such as a refrigerator, freezer, well pump or any other essential should look at a generator that can produce at least a 4000 watt load. If you can also find a generator with tri fuel capabilities, it will enable more options for fueling, either diesel, gasoline or propane. Many Briggs and Stratton generators offer this capability, and come with great warranties.
When you are ready to power your generator and use your manual generator transfer switch, you will notice that there are three separate positions on it: Line, Off and Gen. Line is when you are using your standard electrical feed to power your house. The next position is the Off. This position turns off all electricity to your house. The last positions is the Gen position. This position allows your house to be powered by the generator. The off position is selected before Gen, so that when the manual transfer switch is triggered no arching or short circuiting takes place. This is a safety system designed to keep from damaging the electrical items in your home.
When you are installing your generator system, make sure that the professional you choose installs a manual generator transfer switch that is capable of handling the wattage you are looking to generate for your home. Doing so will keep your generator functioning properly for years to come.
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