Investing In Automatic Power Switching Devices

When electricity goes off in your home, you can always put up with a couple of hours of darkness, cold or heat until it is restored. However, when a power outage occurs in your business, the result can be tragic, especially if the crucial functions depend on constant power supply. This explains why most people invest in backup generators. However, simply having an emergency generator on your premise does not mean that you are adequately prepared to respond to power outages. In order to be fully prepared, you need to ensure that your generator is connected to an automatic transfer switch.

This transfer switch comes with three main components. First, it has a power-switching gadget that shifts the load to and from the source of power. Second, it comes with a transfer logic controller to monitor the condition of the power sources in order provide the control signals to the power switching port. Finally, this transfer switch has the control power source that supply operational power to the controller and switching devices.



So what makes automatic power switching device different from manual power switching device?

With your manual device, you will have to start your generator before connecting it to the power-switching device during the power blackout. Then, you have turn your house on to generator power. When the mains power is restored, you will have to switch off the generator while switching back to the utility power.

However, with your automatic transfer switching device, everything is automated. Therefore, when the mains power goes off, the generator starts up automatically. Once your generator goes on, it automatically connects your property to the generator. When the mains power is restored, it then automatically reconnects your property back to the mains while turning off the generator.

When buying an automatic transfer switch, you need to keep in mind that if you want to power the entire property during an outage, you will have to choose a device with the same rating as your mains breaker panel. For most homes, this is usually 100 amps to 200 amps. The device should be installed between the main breaker at the meter and the electrical panel. If your home has a 400 amp service requiring two distribution panels, you will need to have two 200 amp or one 400 amp transfer switch. However, if your intention is to power only certain areas of the property during an outage, consider installing a sub-panel off your primary panel in order to use a 100-amp power switching device. This is ideal if your generator is not big enough to power the entire property.

An automatic transfer switch is designed for use with a permanently fixed standby generator. In addition, it comes with an inbuilt load center thus saving space while making the installation process easy. This device is very handy for properties that have back up generators.