Power is a normal part of life. We rely on power every day to cook our food, provide comfortable indoor temperatures, light up dark rooms and so much more. Power outages happen for several reasons, having an emergency backup generator or standby generator to keep the power on until it can be restored is beneficial in countless ways. You can purchase a backup generator for a reasonable price at home store retailers and various online stores. We never know when natural disasters will strike us here in South Florida. This is a wise investment for us to make here to ensure our families can still cook food and have the lights on when the inevitable happens to strike. So, what happens after you purchase a generator? What is the difference between a portable generator and a permanent generator? Burley Electrical Services has the answers for you.
Why Shouldn’t You Plug a Generator into a Wall Socket or Directly to Circuit Panel?
Emergency backup generators are very useful, but when they are not installed by a qualified electrician they can feed into your homes power system and cause something that’s called a “back feed”. This sends electricity back to the lines and can electrocute unexpecting linemen who are working on nearby lines to restore the power. Never plug your generator into your homes electrical outlet or directly to the circuit breaker panel. If you plug a generator into your homes electrical outlets, the circuit breaker can no longer preform its job and you are at risk of overloading your home’s electrical system causing it to overheat and possibly start a fire. Aside from that, most generators run on gas or diesel fuel which produces carbon monoxide gas. It is odorless, invisible, and deadly. The only safe way to connect an emergency generator to your house is by having a licensed Master Electrician such as at Burley Electrical Services install a generator power inlet with interlock mechanical transfer switch. Only a qualified, experienced electrician can perform this work. Having this switch installed gives you a dedicated set of switches for the specific circuits you want to power your generator. This will allow your generator to automatically turn on in the event of a power outage. The safety interlock switch can be used to shut off power, control access, and prevent the generator from starting when the guard is open as an added safety measure.
What’s the Difference Between Standby & Portable Generators?
Standby generators are stationary and can handle the workload of powering up whole homes or businesses. Standby generators are typically wired to your home or businesses electrical system and require a qualified electrician to handle the install. Installing a permanent generator likely requires an electrical permit and is not a DIY type of job and any time you are working with live wires it is extremely dangerous. Leave this to Burley Electrical Services to handle for you. Smaller portable residential generators will likely be unable to handle the workload it takes to power up your whole home, but it will work for individual appliances such as refrigerators, stoves, furnaces, sump pumps etc. So, if you’re going to purchase a generator, we recommend purchasing one that will handle the workload of your whole home or business.
Portable Generator Hooks & More in Pompano Beach, Oakland Park, Plantation, Deerfield Beach, Boca Raton, Davie, Fort Lauderdale & South Florida
Burley Electrical Services is South Florida’s most trusted team of qualified, experienced electricians. We have been serving you and your families in South Florida since 1984. Give us a call today and schedule an appointment for us to come and get your home prepared for the next power outage with our portable generator hookups and other related services.
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