Most of us like to keep a small generator in our house to provide power whenever there is any sort of power outage. While small generators can hardly fulfill all needs of a home, but they surely can keep electricity and your refrigerator running. Once the utility power comes back, you will have to switch it back. This is important because utility grid and a generator cannot be connected to your home electrical system at the very same time in any case. As it can result in some serious electrical issues such as short circuit and even fire, this is one situation that you would not want to be in.

Solution

In order to make it secure and to avoid such conflicts, installation of switchgear is required between the grid and the generator. Keep reading to know more about this useful electrical equipment and its types.

Simple Switchgear Usage

This type of switchgear is a simple switch; the power utility grid is connected to the home. So, whenever the grid goes out, one only needs to flip the switch for generator position. Now, you are ready to start your generator and feed electricity to your home. This is the simplest type and outdated as well. With the advancement of technology, nowadays there are computer controlled ones instead of manual flip.

Automatic Transfer Switches

This is one switch that always watches over the grid power. In cases when the grid power goes out, its internal computers instruct the generator to actually start and also divert the home toward generating. For this purpose, modern generators sport an electric start feature. There is also an internal battery inside the generators that provides electricity for starting the motor. Moreover, the moment utility power comes back; the ATS actually senses it and shuts off the generator.

Safeguarding

As an obvious fact, your home cannot be simultaneously connected to both grid and the generator for electricity. It can simply result in a massive short circuit that can even destroy your entire home or the generator wiring. The whole phenomenon behind the use of switchgear, whether automatic or manual, is simply to offer a barrier between the grid and the generator.

 Hands-Free Operation

With ATS feature you do not need to operate the system manually. You do not need to worry about switching and starting the generator, as their internal microprocessor does that automatically for you. However, you should ensure that starting battery is charged, if not then replace it without any delay. Also, ensure that the fuel tank is full. You should run it periodic basis in order to prevent any moisture accumulation.