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Purchase top quality extension cords of sufficient length to reach from the portable generator to the appliance (which may be on the second floor or at the other end of your home).Make sure you have a sufficient number of excellent quality extension cords to run on a one-to-one basis. Instead, purchase a portable generator that has enough outlets that you can concurrently power all required electrical devices on a one-to-one basis (one outlet from the portable generator connected to one appliance). DO NOT run a multi-outlet splitting device from an outlet on the portable generator and connect multiple electrical appliances. When connecting your portable generator to any electrical appliance, use one excellent quality (see #3 for more information) extension cord for each electrical appliance.The electrician will ensure all safety features are in place – including the equipment that prevents the generator from backfeeding the public utility grid – and the building inspector will ensure your electrician has done a proper job installing the generator. If you need a generator to feed your service panel, and provide power to your whole house, purchase a built-in, whole-house generator that is properly permitted by your local building department and professionally installed by an electrician. For your health, and the health of others, please don’t do it. There are other safety reasons not to backfeed a portable generator into your service panel. In 2005, Pike Electric Lineman Ronnie Adams was electrocuted and killed when he spliced a utility line, that had been damaged in a hurricane, that was connected to a nearby home where a portable generator had been backfed into the residential service panel. Electricity will flow down any wire to which it is connected – so if you plug your portable generator directly into your service panel, you are not only supplying power to all the wires in your home which are connected to your service panel, but you are also supplying power out to the public utility grid to which your service panel is also connected (otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to receive any electricity). The main danger is that the portable generator – which is capable of generating significant wattage – is then tied into the public utility electrical grid.To do so is illegal, and dangerous, so for those two reasons, I always say, “No.”
#FLORIDA GENERATOR BACKFEED INSTALL#
During hurricane season, I am frequently asked if I will install an outlet that can be used to connect the electrical service panel to a portable generator. Never attempt to backfeed a portable generator into your service panel.
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Here is some additional information that can ensure a good and safe experience with a portable generator when it is needed: Spending an hour with an electrician will be worth the additional hassle and expense to get the correctly sized generator. On the other hand, you probably don’t want to overpay for an oversized, portable generator which will use more fuel and provide more electricity than needed. Why the extra expense of an electrician? You don’t want an undersized generator – which will ideally cause the generator’s breaker to trip when it is overloaded – because you won’t be able to run all your electrical essentials. So if you need up to 8KW your essential electrical needs, you want to purchase a 10KW generator. As a general rule of thumb, you don’t want to draw more than 80% of the designed capacity. So a 10KW generator produces up to 10,000 watts. Generators are measured in kilowatts or KWs. Once your list is made, contact your local licensed electrician to have him or her determine the total wattage you will need for your portable generator. Make sure you include any required health-related, or medical, equipment such as a CPAP machine. This list might include some strategically place lamps, your refrigerator, and radio which can access a weather channel. The simplest way to determine an appropriately-sized generator is to make a list of the items requiring electricity you need to have functioning during and immediately after a hurricane. It can provide enough electricity to run critical systems in your home. Please take a moment to read this post to make certain you and your loved ones will be safe.Ī portable generator is a tremendous asset to have during and after a hurricane when you are likely to be without power. Portable generators can provide comfort after a hurricane, but only if they are used properly. This post is a reprint of one I did last year just before the hurricanes hit. Hurricane season is FAR from over, and it never hurts to be prepared. We have been lucky so far this year, no major storms or hurricanes have come our way. Hurricane Preparation: Electrical Safety Related to Portable Generators