Who Has a Backup Generator for their Home Electricity?

radderfire

radderfire

radderfire

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Joined
24 Sep 2007
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Hi Guys

Who has a backup generator for their home electricity supply?

Is it easy to use a portable generator to run your whole home electricity supply, and if so, how is the connection to the house usually made?

Thanks
 
To run your whole home especially with stuff like electric cookers and showers the kind of gen you would need wouldn't exactly be portable. 15kva would probably do, then wiring it would be fairly simple into an isolator into your CU... The most basic way of doing it but not best.
 
To run the whole home it won't really be a portable set, it would have to be a free standing unit depending on how much power is needed. To switch over it would either be manually done with a physical switch to start the generator, or with an auto sensing switch that will start it running when the power drops, but it could take a few seconds for the load to stabilise before it could be used properly.

For quick research/pricing look up SDMO home generators as they have a lot of information available on their products.
 
House connections are made with a gen changeover switch (about £70), I wouldn't bother though.

I keep one to run the freezer and boiler pump just in case, but they are connected via an extension socket to where power is needed.

If I was doing this properly I'd get a gen that runs off propane, as that doesn't go off and you can happily store big tanks of the stuff.
 
ikillbears said:
why ?
Click to expand...

I noticed a car had taken down a power pole last month, it took them a few days to put a new one in so whoever was at the end of that will have had no power, no heating and no lighting. Power in rural areas is occasionally disrupted and you can pick up second hand gensets for £50, so why not.

Plus the imminent zombie apocolypse is a reason to be prepared.
 
I'm looking at adding a cabin + converting the garage and looking at alternative energy for them. Adding solar heating + a rocket stove to heat them. Electricity wise, I may look at a couple of solar panels but tbh, I can live without electricity for a bit so not sure I'd invest in a generator unless it was a very common occurrence to lose power.

When I get my yurt/land then i'll invest in a decent one then but only because it'll be off grid :)


Although as a child I remember power cuts being common, and everyone would come to ours to watch the TV as my dad would run it from a car battery. To young to know how though :p
 
We had a generator at our old house. It was fairly remote and was prone to powercuts in bad weather. Our water was supplied via a borehole, so no power = no water. We also used to plug the fridge and freezers in too. Used tilley lamps for lighting and a double burner camp cooker for cooking. Heating was open fire with a back boiler. It was a smallish unit.

I would say for most people though it's overkill :)
 
Had a 3kw genny at old house - used to isolate incoming mains and connect - used to use it to keep fridge - freezer going and one or two light's at a time - would just boil a kettle as well - It did come in very handy occasionally and had it's own little shed behind garage with duct in ground to house.

Dave
 
We have a small scale backup for running basic electronics that includes a 30 watt solar setup, small gen and some batteries. Was more done out of interest than need - its a full diy build.
 
I dont think I even experince 1 power cut a year. I dont understand why someone in the uk would even consider one?
 
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