If I got a generator for my house to be prepared for a power outage (California wildfire country) – how does that work? Do I have to run extension chords from any appliances I want on generator power? Is there a way to connect a generator to the house so that lights work?
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As has been mentioned, they work in many different ways.
One thing I’d caution is that generators may not have the “cleanest” power; for lights it’s generally not a problem, but for sensitive electronics it could be. The “best” solution is an actual backup battery bank that can be recharged by generator- this is my mom’s off-the-grid solution in combo with her solar panels. Her house runs off the batteries; in the summer they recharge by solar panel; when there hasn’t been enough sun to recharge enough, she has a small generator that will charge them.
This is a bit different than a grid-tied system. For one, because she isn’t tied to the grid at all, everything in the house is designed to be as low power usage as possible. Fridge/freezer and stove and water heater are all propane; house heat is a wood stove. For two, she has a whole battery bank and inverter and intelligent charge manager for handling everything.
Understand that an average generator can’t supply nearly enough power for your average residential home needs. The other commenter that has a small sub-panel with just the essentials is that probably the best solution if you don’t want to buy massive generator.
As has been mentioned, they work in many different ways.
One thing I’d caution is that generators may not have the “cleanest” power; for lights it’s generally not a problem, but for sensitive electronics it could be. The “best” solution is an actual backup battery bank that can be recharged by generator- this is my mom’s off-the-grid solution in combo with her solar panels. Her house runs off the batteries; in the summer they recharge by solar panel; when there hasn’t been enough sun to recharge enough, she has a small generator that will charge them.
This is a bit different than a grid-tied system. For one, because she isn’t tied to the grid at all, everything in the house is designed to be as low power usage as possible. Fridge/freezer and stove and water heater are all propane; house heat is a wood stove. For two, she has a whole battery bank and inverter and intelligent charge manager for handling everything.
Understand that an average generator can’t supply nearly enough power for your average residential home needs. The other commenter that has a small sub-panel with just the essentials is that probably the best solution if you don’t want to buy massive generator.
As has been mentioned, they work in many different ways.
One thing I’d caution is that generators may not have the “cleanest” power; for lights it’s generally not a problem, but for sensitive electronics it could be. The “best” solution is an actual backup battery bank that can be recharged by generator- this is my mom’s off-the-grid solution in combo with her solar panels. Her house runs off the batteries; in the summer they recharge by solar panel; when there hasn’t been enough sun to recharge enough, she has a small generator that will charge them.
This is a bit different than a grid-tied system. For one, because she isn’t tied to the grid at all, everything in the house is designed to be as low power usage as possible. Fridge/freezer and stove and water heater are all propane; house heat is a wood stove. For two, she has a whole battery bank and inverter and intelligent charge manager for handling everything.
Understand that an average generator can’t supply nearly enough power for your average residential home needs. The other commenter that has a small sub-panel with just the essentials is that probably the best solution if you don’t want to buy massive generator.
Source – I’m have one of these installed.
As others have said, you can buy either a mobile generator, usually gasoline powered or have an actual permanent “standby generator” installed. Residential standby generators are usually propane or natural gas powered as it’s common for people to have those as a utility or have tanks on site in rural areas.
In the case of a standby generator, they have what’s called an “Automatic Transfer Switch”. It’s a device that you can think of as a Y shape, one leg of the Y connects to the main power grid, the other to your generator. The tail of the Y connects to your house. In the event of a power loss, the ATS “senses” this, and cuts your connection from the grid leg to the generator leg and sends a “turn on” signal to the generator. This usually takes around a minute for the generator to get fully on, so you’ll be without power for a full minute or so, then the lights come back on. That’s pretty much it.
In my case, I have a mobile gas powered generator that isn’t powerful enough to power my whole home, but it it can still do a lot. I don’t have an ATS, my switch is manual.
My generator comes with two sets of outputs, one is just regular 3 pronged outputs for normal devices to plug directly into the generator. The other is a high-voltage plug like you might see on a dryer or washing machine. I had a corresponding plug installed on my home that can receive this cord directly.
That cord feeds to an electrical sub-panel in my basement along with a “manual transfer switch”. The electricians installed this small panel which looks a lot like my main home panel, just much smaller. My main home panel has about 40 breakers which feed my entire home, my subpanel has roughly 1/3 of that.
In the event of a power outage, I have to throw switches that disconnect my home from the power grid and connect it to the generator plug I had installed.
I worked with my electrician to decide which circuits should be fed from the generator (because I couldn’t choose them all, my generator is too small) So in general I’m feed my home heating system, a few lights and outlets per floor, my main appliances, and that’s about it. More than enough to get through a few days of outage.
Source – I’m have one of these installed.
As others have said, you can buy either a mobile generator, usually gasoline powered or have an actual permanent “standby generator” installed. Residential standby generators are usually propane or natural gas powered as it’s common for people to have those as a utility or have tanks on site in rural areas.
In the case of a standby generator, they have what’s called an “Automatic Transfer Switch”. It’s a device that you can think of as a Y shape, one leg of the Y connects to the main power grid, the other to your generator. The tail of the Y connects to your house. In the event of a power loss, the ATS “senses” this, and cuts your connection from the grid leg to the generator leg and sends a “turn on” signal to the generator. This usually takes around a minute for the generator to get fully on, so you’ll be without power for a full minute or so, then the lights come back on. That’s pretty much it.
In my case, I have a mobile gas powered generator that isn’t powerful enough to power my whole home, but it it can still do a lot. I don’t have an ATS, my switch is manual.
My generator comes with two sets of outputs, one is just regular 3 pronged outputs for normal devices to plug directly into the generator. The other is a high-voltage plug like you might see on a dryer or washing machine. I had a corresponding plug installed on my home that can receive this cord directly.
That cord feeds to an electrical sub-panel in my basement along with a “manual transfer switch”. The electricians installed this small panel which looks a lot like my main home panel, just much smaller. My main home panel has about 40 breakers which feed my entire home, my subpanel has roughly 1/3 of that.
In the event of a power outage, I have to throw switches that disconnect my home from the power grid and connect it to the generator plug I had installed.
I worked with my electrician to decide which circuits should be fed from the generator (because I couldn’t choose them all, my generator is too small) So in general I’m feed my home heating system, a few lights and outlets per floor, my main appliances, and that’s about it. More than enough to get through a few days of outage.
Source – I’m have one of these installed.
As others have said, you can buy either a mobile generator, usually gasoline powered or have an actual permanent “standby generator” installed. Residential standby generators are usually propane or natural gas powered as it’s common for people to have those as a utility or have tanks on site in rural areas.
In the case of a standby generator, they have what’s called an “Automatic Transfer Switch”. It’s a device that you can think of as a Y shape, one leg of the Y connects to the main power grid, the other to your generator. The tail of the Y connects to your house. In the event of a power loss, the ATS “senses” this, and cuts your connection from the grid leg to the generator leg and sends a “turn on” signal to the generator. This usually takes around a minute for the generator to get fully on, so you’ll be without power for a full minute or so, then the lights come back on. That’s pretty much it.
In my case, I have a mobile gas powered generator that isn’t powerful enough to power my whole home, but it it can still do a lot. I don’t have an ATS, my switch is manual.
My generator comes with two sets of outputs, one is just regular 3 pronged outputs for normal devices to plug directly into the generator. The other is a high-voltage plug like you might see on a dryer or washing machine. I had a corresponding plug installed on my home that can receive this cord directly.
That cord feeds to an electrical sub-panel in my basement along with a “manual transfer switch”. The electricians installed this small panel which looks a lot like my main home panel, just much smaller. My main home panel has about 40 breakers which feed my entire home, my subpanel has roughly 1/3 of that.
In the event of a power outage, I have to throw switches that disconnect my home from the power grid and connect it to the generator plug I had installed.
I worked with my electrician to decide which circuits should be fed from the generator (because I couldn’t choose them all, my generator is too small) So in general I’m feed my home heating system, a few lights and outlets per floor, my main appliances, and that’s about it. More than enough to get through a few days of outage.
What you’re talking about is a whole house standby generator. They are installed with an ATS(automatic transfer switch) which automatically starts the generator and switches over when the power from the street goes out. You’ll need to have a fuel source, depending on your location, it could be Natural Gas or Propane. These systems are wired directly into the house so everything comes back on. (Some systems are set up to provide power to essential systems, food storage, some lighting, a few outlets, heat.)
There are also portable generators, which can be connected to the same fuel sources as above, or can run on gasoline. These can also be wired into the whole house, but more often you’ll see extension cords running to the important appliances.
What you’re talking about is a whole house standby generator. They are installed with an ATS(automatic transfer switch) which automatically starts the generator and switches over when the power from the street goes out. You’ll need to have a fuel source, depending on your location, it could be Natural Gas or Propane. These systems are wired directly into the house so everything comes back on. (Some systems are set up to provide power to essential systems, food storage, some lighting, a few outlets, heat.)
There are also portable generators, which can be connected to the same fuel sources as above, or can run on gasoline. These can also be wired into the whole house, but more often you’ll see extension cords running to the important appliances.
What you’re talking about is a whole house standby generator. They are installed with an ATS(automatic transfer switch) which automatically starts the generator and switches over when the power from the street goes out. You’ll need to have a fuel source, depending on your location, it could be Natural Gas or Propane. These systems are wired directly into the house so everything comes back on. (Some systems are set up to provide power to essential systems, food storage, some lighting, a few outlets, heat.)
There are also portable generators, which can be connected to the same fuel sources as above, or can run on gasoline. These can also be wired into the whole house, but more often you’ll see extension cords running to the important appliances.
2 ways:
1) have an electrician wire up a plug that connects to your house so all the plugs in your house work as if you’re on the grid when the generator is plugged into it. I assume they would make up a switch for safety reasons.
2) run a bunch of extension cords and plug in which appliances you want to power when you turn on your generator.
I haven’t done the first one yet but it has its advantages and disadvantages like convenience vs practicality
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