Automatic Home Generator - Generac

We’ve all experienced a loss of electrical power at one time or another. At best it’s an inconvenience. Extended power failures in extreme weather conditions can place your loved ones in a life-threatening situation. We’ve found a solution – a home-based automatic electricity generation system. https://amzn.to/2WWNpCs for reference. Why do you need a generator? Severe weather can flood your basement, freeze your pipes, and cause related structural damage. Severe weather (or power disruptions from the utility company) can also trigger a power failure. Pumps, furnaces, air conditioners, security systems, lights, stoves, water heaters and refrigerators all depend on electricity. Loss of power to these essential elements will certainly disrupt your life. Destructive high winds, ice and snow can easily increase the duration and severity of a power interruption. In remote rural areas, you may have to wait a long time for utility workers to reach your house and restore power. Generator Components Power from the utility company usually enters your house through a main breaker box. This generator system separates your circuitry into two breaker boxes. One breaker box holds all the circuits you’ve chosen to receive emergency power in case of a power failure. The other box holds the rest of your circuits, the one’s you’ve determined you can live without in an emergency situation. An electrician will wire your breaker boxes so that the generator system can start up whenever power fails. Electricity flows from the utility pole outside into your main breaker box. The flow of electricity then passes through a transfer switch as it continues to flow into the breaker box that holds all your pre-selected emergency circuits. The transfer switch is a component of the generator system that monitors incoming voltage from the outside utility line 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. When power flows normally, the transfer switch remains inactive, and electricity flows into the two breaker boxes as if the generator system does not exist. If utility power is interrupted, the transfer switch immediately senses the problem and signals the generator system to power up. What happens when you lose power? At the first hint of a sustained power outage (not just a momentary flicker or surge), the generator system starts up automatically in a two-stage process. When the transfer switch senses the loss of utility power, the generator system begins an initial 15-second countdown. Utility companies often experience momentary voltage drops or power losses. The 15-second countdown marks time to make sure the power loss is serious, and potentially long-term. At the end of the initial 15-second countdown, the system turns the generator engine on and fires up the system. At this point a second countdown begins, again lasting 15 seconds. The generator warms up in this time, and the sensors continue to search for a resumption of utility power. If this 15-second countdown expires before utility power resumes, then the transfer switch flips to emergency mode. At this point (a total of 30 seconds after the power loss) the generator feeds electricity to your pre-selected emergency circuits. The system will continue to feed power to those emergency circuits no matter how long the power is out, as long as your fuel supply holds out. These systems run on natural gas or propane. We’ve taped our segment at a house where we buried a 250-gallon propane tank in the backyard to supply the generator. Whenever the utility company eventually restores power, the generator system takes itself off-line in a reverse-countdown process. Fifteen seconds after utility power resumes, the transfer switch flips back into standby mode. At that moment, the generator disconnects and utility company electricity flows into the emergency breaker box, just like it normally does. For the next 60 seconds, the system makes sure the power resumption is permanent, and the generator engine cools as it idles. At the end of that 60-second cool-down period (a total of 75 seconds after utility power resumes), the generator engine shuts down. How do you select which circuits to protect? During a power outage, you won’t need every available appliance and outlet. Pick your circuits based on need. You’ll want sufficient lighting to navigate the house safely. You’ll probably want to preserve the food in the fridge. You’ll definitely want to maintain HVAC control, especially if extreme weather (hot or cold) causes the power outage. The water heater and cook top may come in handy during extended power outages. If you have a sump pump you’ll want to maintain power to prevent flooding and damage. If you draw water from a well, then choose the circuit that feeds that pump.

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