Entire House Generators – a look at what it really means, and how much power you will get

Some standby generator packages are described as providing “entire house power” which suggests they can power everything within your house. The packages almost always have an automatic transfer switch with power management features.

By itself, “entire house power” signifies that the whole property is furnished with power, however not all generators can handle producing enough power to support all appliances and lights at the same time.

Home Power Use

The conventional new house in the United States features a 200-amp service panel with many circuit breakers. If your amperage of all the so-called breakers inside the panel are added up, they could total up to 800 amperes, far well over exactly what the panel or main breaker are equipped for. If every one of the home’s appliances and lights were started up, the total would still not exceed 200 amperes as well as the main breaker wouldn’t trip.

Safety and convenience dictate the size of the main service panel and the amount of circuits it supplies. The dimensions of the main breaker isn’t really a good indicator of the quantity of power the full house uses.

Power Management

Managing power takes two forms. Homeowners do their part by switching off nonessential appliances and lights while operating on standby power. What creates a nonessential appliance depends on the problem and also the capacity for the full house generator. Power management devices such as load-shedding controllers or digital power management systems prevent backup generator overloads by limiting the amount of high-demand appliances that operate as well.

Automatic Transfer Switches

The automated transfer switch is a vital part in the entire house generator system. Their installation configures them because the gatekeeper for electricity for the complete home. During normal operation, they send power in the electric utility to the main service panel. When utility power fails, they disconnect the utility lines in the home and route power in the entire house generator to the main panel.

To meet electrical codes, the automatic transfer switch current rating in a entire house power configuration must equal or exceed the main circuit breaker current rating. A 200-amp main circuit breaker requires a 200-amp or greater automatic transfer switch. By using a smaller switch for entire house power may cause a fire or permanently damage the switch.

Entire House Generators

Generators are rated in watts (W) or kilowatts (kW), a measure of the work electric power is capable of doing. Air-cooled generators for entire house power start with ratings of around 8,000 watts (8 kW) and top out at about 20,000 watts (20 kW). Liquid-cooled generators for residential applications offer 20 kilowatts to 65 kilowatts of electric power.

By comparison, a hundred amp main circuit breaker are equipped for about 24,000 watts of power and a 200 amp panel about 48,000 watts of power. Keep in mind that the home never uses the quantity of power the main breaker is prepared for.

Selecting a Home Standby Generator

For the majority of applications, it is not necessary or economical to set up a complete house generator competent at providing the equal power the main circuit breaker is prepared for. Through the use of power management devices and judicious homeowner power use, smaller generators will provide the full house with electric power.

Perform a power audit to discover the maximum amount of power used at the time. Figure out what high voltage appliances are crucial and which aren’t. Finally, select a backup generator package that will meet the power needs of the entire house and use power management devices to manage the energy supplied to high voltage appliances for efficient entire house power that meets your needs.

For more info go to: www.BackupHomePower.com

« »