In areas prone to natural disasters, a whole house generator is an important tool for helping homeowners get through extended power outages. It will ensure that families have access to their essential items during a blackout.
They can also protect homes from damage and waste during an outage, like spoiled food and bacteria growth in the refrigerator and freezer. They can keep medical equipment running, as well, and ensure that people aren’t without access to medications and oxygen.
Automatic Transfer Switch
The automatic transfer switch is the device that connects your generator to your home’s electrical circuits. It’s designed to allow you to easily change your circuit load during an outage.
It also prevents back-feed from the utility line, which can damage your generator and even electrocute utility line workers trying to restore power. It’s required by the National Electric Code and must be installed by a licensed electrician.
Depending on your needs, you can choose between a panel of breakers that serves only a few essential circuits or a Load Center ATS that contains both the panel and the switch in one electrical box.
There are also a variety of time delay systems available, which curb false alarms during normal outages from triggering your generator. The most common delay is a single second, but some systems can be up to a six-second delay.
Automatic Blackout Detection
Automatic blackout detection is a key feature of all whole house generators. This helps you avoid the stress of having to manually turn on your backup generator in case there is a power outage.
A generator will automatically detect a blackout and power on in a few seconds, supplying your home with the energy it needs to keep running. This means that you’ll never have to worry about losing your coffee maker, your fridge or even your TV.
This is a great feature for people who have children or elderly family members in the home. If a blackout happens, you’ll have the ability to ensure that your children aren’t cold or sick and that aging relatives can continue to enjoy their daily activities.
Some whole house generators use a load center transfer switch to supply specific circuit breakers with power. These switches may control the main circuit breaker panel or a subpanel on your home.
Automatic Fuel Injection
An automatic fuel injection system in a generator replaces the need for a carburetor. It uses electronic controls to adjust the air-fuel mixture and throttle position.
This system also eliminates the need for a choke. The electronic controls constantly adjust your fuel/air mixture to keep your generator engine running at the best possible power and peak horsepower settings.
There are several types of fuel metering systems that use a combination of sensors and control valves to regulate how much fuel is injected into the cylinders at any time. The metering system may vary from pressure metered, time metered or both.
One of the most popular fuel metering systems is called sequential port fuel injection (SPFI). It uses multiple injectors, but they all spray their fuel at the same time or in groups. This results in fuel hanging around the port for up to 150 milliseconds when the engine is idling.
Quiet Operation
When it comes to a generator, you don’t want it to be loud. That could scare away neighbors, and it might also be a distraction to your family during an outage. For that reason, you’ll be happy to know most whole house generators are designed to run as quietly as possible.
The quietest generators are available in a variety of sizes, from small to big. This means you’ll have plenty of options when it comes to determining which is right for your home and your budget.
A whole house generator that can handle the task of powering your entire house from A to Z will come in handy should the lights go out. This is especially true if you have a large home with lots of appliances and electronics that rely on backup power to operate. If you have a smaller home, you’ll probably only need a small generator to power the essentials. The best part is that it’s usually easy to set up and control, thanks to smart technology like Wi-Fi capabilities and integrated apps.