How Whole-Home Backup Generators Work

Power outages can disrupt daily life, but a whole-home backup generator ensures your home remains powered. Here's how these systems operate:

1. Power Generation

A whole-home generator sits in standby mode.  When needed the generators use an internal combustion engine, typically powered by natural gas to produce electricity.  If a home does not have natural gas, propane can easily used.  Our Generac generators will run on either fuel type.  This electricity is then supplied to your home's mail electrical panel, powering appliances and systems.  If connected to natural gas, the system will run indefinity, until utility power is restored.  200 gallons of propane will last approximately 3 - 5 days depending on generator size and power load.

2. Monitoring Utility Power

Whole-home generators are connected between the utility line and your home's breaker panel, continuously monitoring the utility power. When an outage occurs, the ATS (automatic transfer switch) will detect a loss of power from the utility line.  The system will monitor for a few seconds to ensure it is an outage and not a brief anomaly.  

3. Automatic Activation

Upon detecting and confirming an outage, the ATS sends a signal to start the generator.  When the ATS detects power from the generator it disconnects your home from the utility line and automatically restores power quickly.  The entire process happens in about 30 to 90 seconds.

4. Restoring Utility Power

When utility power is restored, the ATS detects the stable power source. It then automatically switches your home back to utility power and shuts down the generator after a brief cool-down period, returning to standby mode.

5. Weekly self-test, AKA exercise cycle 

To ensure reliability, the generator runs it's engine automatically performing what is called "exercising".  This self test is usually weekly, but can be changed to meet your unique needs.  These tests run the generator briefly to check for any issues, ensuring it's ready for the next outage and it keeps the engine lubed and in good working condition.

Benefits of Whole-Home Generators:

• Automatic Operation: No manual intervention is required during outages.
• Fuel Options: Our generators are powered by natural gas or propane.  No messy, dangerous gas cans to deal with.
• Comprehensive Coverage: Can power the entire home or selected circuits, depending on the system size.
• Cellular and WiFi Monitoring:  All of our Generac Home Generators come with a built-in Cellular and/or Wifi module to make programming and monitoring easy.
• Peace of Mind: Ensures essential systems like heating, cooling, refrigeration, and medical equipment remain operational.

Investing in a whole-home backup generator provides uninterrupted power, safeguarding your home and comfort during unexpected outages.