Generator installation

Nova Scotia loses power to weather often enough that generators here are a practical purchase rather than a luxury one. Generator installation is where one either becomes genuinely useful or becomes a hazard.

The part that is not optional

A generator connected to house circuits must be isolated from the utility supply, every time, without depending on anyone remembering to do something. That is what a transfer switch or a mechanical interlock does.

Back-feeding a house through an appliance outlet does not do this. It sends power back out onto the utility line, where somebody is working to restore your service. This is the single most important thing on this page.

Standby generator installation

A standby generator sits outside on a pad, monitors the utility supply, and starts itself when the power fails. The electrical scope is the transfer switch, the circuits it will carry, the wiring between the unit and the house, and the load calculation deciding what it can realistically run.

Portable connections

Far more common, and far cheaper. An inlet on the outside wall, a cable to the generator, and an interlock at the panel so the main breaker and the generator breaker cannot be on together. You choose which circuits matter: usually the furnace or heat pump, the fridge, the well pump and some lighting.

The well pump question

Outside the serviced areas this is often the real reason people buy a generator. No power means no water. If you are on a well, tell us, because the pump’s starting current has a large effect on what size unit you need.

A standby unit that will carry a whole house often needs the service looked at too, which is where a panel upgrade comes in. If the power is already out and something has failed, that is emergency service.