How Does a Whole-Home Standby Generator Work?
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How Does a Whole-Home Standby Generator Work?

a whole-home standby generator installed in backyard of house

Power Your Home When the Power is Off

Have you ever lost power during a serious thunderstorm and had to navigate around your home by candlelight or cell phone light? Losing power to your home is never a fun experience, and it comes with challenges and concerns. In times like these, having a standby generator for your home can save you the headache of having to buy candles or waste valuable cell phone batteries and even save the food you have in your fridge.

Luckily, there’s no shortage of generators. With so many different sizes and types of generators that can power anything from a single appliance to your entire home, there is a generator for you. For the sake of this post, we will be focusing on backup generators that can provide power to your entire home. We will go over the essential parts of a generator, how they work, and where you can invest in one for your home. 

The Basics of a Whole-House Generator

First and foremost, how does a generator work? Regardless of the style or size of the generator you have, they all have the same essential parts that provide the same basic functions. The basic elements of a whole-house generator include a fuel supply, a generator engine, the generator, a generator controller, and permanent wiring. To turn a generator on automatically, you’ll also need a transfer switch.

Fuel Supply

Whole home standby generators need a source of fuel to run when there is no electrical power. If your home has a natural gas line, your generator will simply hook up to this gas line and use that for fuel. Power outages do not typically affect your gas line, so your generator will still power up if your home has no electricity. If your home has propane, your generator will hook up to that. If you have an all-electric home with no gas line of any kind, your generator will need a gas tank installed at the same time as the generator installation. 

Generator Engine

Backup generators also have a battery-powered engine that spins the rotor shaft in order to create electricity. This engine is what spins the mechanism in the generator to create the electricity that is then sent into your home. The battery is typically charged from your home’s electricity so that when the power goes out, your generator has a full battery to run off of. 

Generator

The generator, as the name suggests, is what generates electricity to power your home. The rotor shaft spins the armature core inside of a magnetic field to create electricity that is then funneled into your home. 

Generator Controller

As part of your generator installation, you’ll need a transfer switch that can detect when your home has lost power. When this happens, the generator controller will send a signal to the generator to boot up and start making electricity. The controller then sends a signal to the transfer switch to send the power from the generator into your home. In addition, the generator controller also performs routine maintenance tasks, such as routinely running exercise cycles to check for any issues with the generator. It also lubricates the engine and lets you manually change the settings on the controller. 

Permanent Wiring & Transfer Switch

Lastly, the permanent wiring of your generator is what connects the transfer switch to your home and to the generator itself. The transfer switch will sense when your home has lost power and signal the generator to start producing electricity. In addition, it can also sense when power has been restored to your home, and it can tell the generator to power off when it is no longer needed.

automatic transfer switch mounted on the wall of a house

How Generators Actually Work in Your Home

Now that we know the basic components of a generator and what they do, let’s dive into how home generators work. There are a few frequently asked questions that we are happy to answer for you to see if a generator is the right choice for you and your home. By having answers to these questions, you will have more insight into how generators work and which one would work best for your situation.

How Long Does It Take a Generator to Start Working?

The exact timeframe of how long it takes a generator to start up can depend on the make and model of the generator you choose. As a general rule of thumb, generators tend to not start warming up right away. Most generators will wait a few minutes to make sure that the power outage was not just a brief fluke and then start warming up. Warming up includes starting up the engine, building up a supply of energy to send to the house, and then switching over to sending the power into the house, and this process can take a few minutes. However, we understand that there are people who depend on having power 24/7. This is why our generators provide power to your home in 10 seconds or less.

Are Whole Home Standby Generators Loud?

How loud your generator is will depend on the size of the generator and the manufacturer. Sometimes, smaller units will make less noise. However, that will depend on what your generator is made of and the manufacturer. When your generator is not running, it is silent. Once it turns on, it can sound similar to when a neighbor starts mowing their lawn or using a leaf blower. Overall, they are relatively quiet. At Randazzo, we carry Kohler generators, which are one of the quietest whole-home standby generators on the market.

Where Are They Located?

If you decide to install a backup generator for your house, it will typically be on a concrete bed just outside of your home. Since it runs on gas, it needs to be in a well-ventilated area away from any windows to prevent the buildup of carbon monoxide. 

In Summary

Having a whole-home standby generator in case of an emergency can give you peace of mind that your home will always have power. The basic parts of a generator include the fuel supply, the generator engine, the generator, the generator controller, and the permanent wiring and transfer switch. These units are installed outside away from any windows and can power up in 10 seconds or less. Randazzo carries Kohler generators, which are one of the quietest whole-home standby generators currently on the market.

Whole-Home & Standby Generator Services with Randazzo

Our team of electricians at Randazzo is here to serve the areas of Southeast Michigan, such as Detroit, Macomb, Troy, Bloomfield Hills, and Farmington Hills. We offer whole home & standby generator services, including installations, maintenance, and repairs. Contact us online or over the phone at (586) 271-8003 for a free estimate.

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