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Owning a generator to provide backup electrical power for your home during an outage is one
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thing, but getting that generator power into your electrical panel safely and legally is another
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There are different hardware options to make this happen, and in this teaching and product
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video, I'll show you one of the simplest, most flexible, and most economical generator
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connection possibilities going, something called a manual transfer switch, or MTS for short
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Besides being far cheaper than the alternative of a standby home generator, a portable generator
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connecting to one of these manual switches offers distinct advantages. The system is more economical and easier to install than a stationary automatic standby
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generator, you don't need to have the utility power to your home disconnected during installation
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as with meter-based connection systems, and you can easily upgrade to a larger portable
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generator in the future if you need it. You can also use your portable generator in other locations when it's not supplying power
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during a blackout, and if your portable breaks down when you really need it, you can simply
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swap in another one until grid power returns. That is an MTS
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It's not difficult to understand how manual transfer switches work. Even though the entire unit is called a switch, the actual switching mechanism is just one
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part of it. The switch itself is housed within a small metal panel box that includes circuit breakers
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that are typically part of the package. So don't be confused by the term manual transfer switch, it applies to the entire unit that
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gets installed in your home. Planning and MTS Installation The planning process for transfer switch installation begins by deciding which circuits you want
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powered by your generator during an outage, and which ones you can do without
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Essential circuits typically include lighting, wall outlets, a furnace or air conditioner
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a water pump if you're on a well, and perhaps internet equipment, a sump pump, or a sewage pump
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Many of these items don't have plug outlets so they can't be connected to a generator
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using an extension cord. Sidestepping this problem is the biggest advantage of a manual transfer switch
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It allows you to deliver power to essential hard-wired items and outlets that can only
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get their power through the electrical panel. It's important to understand that portable generators don't typically put out enough
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power to energize everything in most homes, so one way or the other you'll need to choose
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which circuits to power. Installing a transfer switch just means you make this decision ahead of time, as circuits
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are re-routed into the manual transfer switch panel during installation. Why not just a simple outlet
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It's dangerous and illegal to connect a generator directly to hard-wired circuits in your electrical
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panel without the right kind of switch in place, because of the hazard this poses to
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electrical workers. I often cover generator-related topics on video, and I sometimes hear from people who
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brag about saving time and money making a direct, switch-less connection between generator
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and panel. Don't ever do this. Utility workers have died by electrocution from generator power that they didn't know
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was back-feeding through the power lines they were working on. This is why various transfer switch options were developed
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Ignore this advice and it could lead to big trouble for you and others
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How to install and use an MTS Installing a transfer switch is work for a licensed electrician, but the concept behind
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the product is simple. As a homeowner, you'd be wise to understand what's involved before hiring anyone
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Wires connected to circuit breakers in your existing electrical panel get disconnected
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and re-routed to different breakers within the transfer switch panel itself, typically
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located nearby. These new connections involve short lengths of cable extending to the transfer switch
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with twist-on wire nuts securing the connections to existing household wiring within your electrical panel
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A weatherproof outlet comes with most transfer switch kits, including the Champion unit I
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have at my place, and gets installed on the outside of an exterior wall to allow easy
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connection of the generator. When grid power goes down, you need to do two things
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One, connect your generator to the weatherproof outlet using the special power cord provided
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with the unit, then get the generator running. Two, flip on the manual transfer switch inside your home to disconnect the panel from the grid
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This simultaneously establishes a direct connection between your generator and those essential
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circuits you had re-routed into the transfer switch panel, all with a guaranteed disconnection
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from the grid. Both functions are handled by the same two-position toggle switch
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For safety, fuel power generators must always be used outdoors, far from occupied buildings
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with the exhaust pointed away from people, animals, and buildings. The Champion TS30 unit that I have at my place costs $599 CAD, or about $499 US, and this
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is about as economical as it gets for this kind of thing
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My model handles 30 amps at 240 volts, which translates to 7,200 watts of total power delivered
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large enough to handle the output of most generators for household backup
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The unit comes with a weatherproof outlet, a power cord to connect a generator to the
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port, five 120 volt 15 amp protected circuits, one 120 volt 20 amp protected circuit, and
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one 120, 240 volt, 30 amp protected circuit. As generator prices decline and reliability and efficiency increases, more and more homeowners
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are opting for the generator option. A manual transfer switch makes the most sense for many people, and maybe this means you too
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Next time you have an outage, a few minutes' work connecting your generator to an MTS and
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firing it up will get you up and running with the essential items working just like normal
