THE OUTDOORS GUY – Going ‘off-grid’ at home with a Generac generator system
Categories: Canada
With an alarming trend in power outages, I made the decision to back-up my house with a generator for those times when going ‘off-grid’ is not by choice.
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After two major power outages in less than one-year (one resulting in a flooded basement) owning a generator in my neck of the woods is a must! My first purchase was a dependable Generac portable generator, with 7500 watts of power. This ubiquitous unit was just the ticket in May 2022 when a storm resulted in six days with no power. My Generac ‘genny’ worked flawlessly but a tangled mess of extension cords running to my basement, sump-pump, fridges and even our neighbor’s house, was a bit too chaotic. After some research (and a call to Generac head office) I learned that a ‘Transfer Switch’ was the way to go, essentially linking my entire home to my generator, with the flick of a switch.
Generac manual transfer switch
The good folks at Generac determined that I needed a Homelink 30Amp transfer switch to run my house completely and independently off generator without cumbersome extension cords. The switch, otherwise known as a ‘pony panel’ gets linked to every electrical connection in your breaker box. You pick and choose which household appliance gets included (or excluded) in the event of a power outage, based on your ‘genny’ size and 7500 watts was sufficient for almost everything. The more the merrier was my thinking but this project first required a registered electrician, one with experience, for my plan to come to fruition. When the transfer switch arrived from Generac, I made a call to the highest-rated electrician I could find, a company familiar with switch installs who was also an authorized Generac installer; Jean-Yves Gaudreau of G5 Electrical in Bourget, Ontario.
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Enter JY of G5 Electric
With the new Homelink 30amp life-saving pony panel in hand, Jean-Yves and his assistant from G5 Electric, spent the day hooking everything but the kitchen sink to it! My heart was racing like a ruby-throated hummingbird with anticipation. Connecting the panel to my existing 100-amp entrance, plus installing both an outside generator outlet and additional 30 amp outlet for my RV, translated into a comprehensive project indeed. JY was excellent. He explained every step of the process and how to operate the new transfer switch, from start to finish. Worry-free days ahead my friends!
Off-grid worries be gone
As the first to engineer affordable home standby generators, Generac developed components specifically for rigors of generator use. Generac handles the most severe weather conditions, and we’ve certainly witnessed that of late. As storms strain the power grids of Ontario, Quebec and beyond, outages occur more often than ever before. Homeowners like us living in the suburbs have copious things to fret over during any outage – sump-pumps, well pumps, septic systems, fridges, freezers, the list goes on. Not anymore!
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Peace of mind
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