hoosierdoc
Freed prisoner
I had a company out today to quote a whole-house generator option. We have two 200a panels and currently have a transfer switch to allow selective circuits to be powered by a 30A feed from a generator. He was saying a 36kW generator for 150A or so would do both panels, or a 20kW at 83A would do one and we can choose which circuits to put on the panel backed by the generator. With that we would not be able to power the ovens, drier, hottub (obviously), or one of our two AC units. I asked about having the ability to selectively power circuits so we could run downstairs AC during the day and upstairs AC at night, or turn off AC to use the oven. He said they would not wire it in that manner as it is a setup to harm the generator from drawing too much power. He said there are some contractors that will do it but it's not a good idea. The good news is they can connect it to our disconnect at the meter outside rather than needing direct access to our panel for the generator wire.
I'm looking for advice on how to proceed. I get what he's saying on the potential to overload the generator but at the same time it seems like an easy thing to remember, especially if the circuit is off for the oven and has to be manually switched on before using it.
I'm looking for advice on how to proceed. I get what he's saying on the potential to overload the generator but at the same time it seems like an easy thing to remember, especially if the circuit is off for the oven and has to be manually switched on before using it.