Installation guide
Life in Alaska is exciting and different. No small part of the spice of life here is
the environment: the scenic beauty, the weather, the scale of the natural forces.
Floods, earthquakes, severe storms and wildres are also part of living in Alaska.
Natural disasters create potential emergency situations and power outages can occur.
Even if these events are uncommon, they do happen with some regularity in nearly all
regions of Alaska. Few areas of the state are immune, and emergency preparedness is
a useful response to the threats we face in our Alaskan homes and routines.
Storms, natural disasters, and accidents can and do cause electrical power failures.
Depending on temperature, an outage that lasts longer than six hours can lead to seri-
ous problems, such as frozen water pipes, spoiled food and even danger to family,
livestock or pets.
Standby electric power from generators can keep your essential electrical equipment
operational during power outages. This “insurance” can help you avoid inconvenience
and nancial loss. This publication is designed to give you current, safe and economi-
cal information about installing a standby electrical generator for your home.
Individuals with health care needs that are life-threatening if power is out for an
extended period of time should consider an emergency system designed by a profes-
sional engineer and installed by a licensed contractor. The systems described in this
publication do not describe the installation of an emergency system.
To provide the standby power you will need:
1. A 60 Hz (cycle per second) alternating current (AC) generator to provide the
standby electric power at 120-volts or 120/240-volts.
2. An engine to run the AC generator. Most off-the-shelf generators are purchased
as a unit with the engine sized for the generator.
3. A transfer switch to provide an easy means of transferring the generator
electrical power to your house electrical wiring. The transfer switch provides
a safe means of transferring standby power, while prohibiting the generator
from being connected to the utility power system.
Typically, homes are served by the utility from a 120/240-volt, single phase trans-
former and a three wire service. The three wire service consists of two insulated black
wires which have 240-volts between them, and 120-volts between each insulated wire
and the white or bare neutral.
Generators with voltage ratings of 120-volts, 115/230-volts or 120/240-volts can
be used. Generators which are rated only 240-volts output (240-volts between the two
wire output with no neutral) should not be used.
Do not use generators which produce 50 Hz (cycles per second), or direct cur-
rent (DC).
Requirements
Introduction
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