Whole-house backup power

Two ways to plan backup

With whole-house backup, a service-rated transfer switch moves your entire panel onto the generator. Daily life carries on more or less normally. With essential-circuit backup, a smaller generator feeds a separate subpanel holding a handful of circuits, such as heat, the sump pump, the fridge, some lights and the internet router. It costs less, but some rooms stay dark.

Start by picturing a three-day outage in February and another in August. What would you miss most? The answer usually makes the choice clearer.

Some families start with essential circuits and plan the transfer switch so a larger generator can be swapped in later.

Load management

Load management works because big appliances rarely all run at once. Modules pause heavy loads, such as central air, an electric dryer or a car charger, until the generator has room, so a mid-size unit can carry the whole house most of the time at a lower purchase price. Ask which loads would be managed and in what order.

Fuel for a larger generator

A large generator burns a lot of fuel at full output. On natural gas, the utility must confirm that your meter and service line can feed the generator at the same time as your furnace, water heater and range. A meter upgrade is common for whole-house units and can take the utility some time to schedule.

With propane, the tank decides how long you go between deliveries. Ask the installer and your propane company for a runtime estimate based on the generator and your usage. Gas and propane lines are for licensed professionals only. If you smell gas, get out of the house, then call 911 or the utility.

Ask the installer to put the expected fuel use per hour in the quote, so you can compare running costs.

Rivertown priorities

Hillside houses near the Hudson often have finished lower levels and sump pumps, and older ones may have steam or hot water heat that needs power for the boiler controls and circulators. In winter, losing power can mean no heat, frozen pipes and water in the basement. Put heating, the sump pump and refrigeration at the top of the list, then lighting and outlets, then comfort loads like air conditioning.

Older boilers may need a check that their controls handle the switch to generator power smoothly.

Questions to bring to the site visit

Bring a short list. What kilowatt size, and which loads can run together? Is load management part of the plan? Will the gas meter need replacing, and who deals with the utility? For propane, what tank size covers several days? Where on my lot would the unit sit, and does the slope call for a built-up base? Answers in writing make the quotes far easier to line up.

Questions homeowners ask