Eight Months on an Emergency Generator earned me a PHD in Power Generation

I was quite rudely introduced to powering my House and Barn with an Emergency Generator after I filed a complaint with the Power Company over the Solar Credits that kept disappearing from my billing account...

Since I was a Net Generator of electricity, I knew that their Smart Meter Billing Statement was supposed to track the Solar Energy Credits that I was generating, however the Power Company’s NET Metering Billing Statements were not tracking the Solar Credits and the Net Solar Credits that I knew I was generating were not appearing on my Billing Statements. So I contacted Customer Service.

When I inquired about the Solar Credits that weren’t showing up on my Billing Statement, the Power Company made a demand to enter my barn to “inspect my equipment” and started changing the meters to the House and Barn which they did on at least 5 occasions over the next several months. They never addressed my concerns over the Solar Credits that were absent from my Billing Statements, however each time they changed a Meter, the meter reading would reset to “0” on the Billing Statement, Deleting the Solar Credits that had been generated on the old meter. The billing statements accurately describe when the meters were changed and the Solar Credits they deleted along the way.

At that point, the Power Company told me to file an Informal Complaint with the PUC in May of 2019. The Power Company is required to respond to the PUC with a Report within 30 days, which they never did. I made repeated inquiries to Angie and Jose, my case workers at the PUC over the next several months, but it wasn’t until December 24th that the PUC responded to my Informal Complaint to “Pay the Bill”… So I appealed their decision and filed a Formal Complaint with the PAPUC.

The Power Company terminated my electrical service on March 3, 2020 due to Non-Payment of their fraudulent charges the very day I filed the Formal Complaint with the PUC. I then had to fight them in Court just to have my power restored. I was on an Emergency Generator for eight (8) months, negotiating Permits and Inspections just to get my power RESTORED! All because I filed a Complaint. I can say that I received my PhD in Emergency Power Generation from that experience and I’m willing to share what I learned, both in, and out of Court.

I had just delivered the Formal Complaint to the PUC and upon returning home after the four hour drive, I hit the button to open the garage door... and nothing. The Billing Dispute that I started 9 months earlier, turned into the Power Company Terminating my Electrical Service at the behest of the Municipality over my Solar Panels… I came to discover.

It was a little after 4pm when I made my first call to Betty who stamped my Formal Complaint in at the PA PUC four hours earlier. “Betty”, I said, “They cut off my power!” Betty responded: “Well they shouldn’t have done that...” Tell me about it... Betty.

My second call was to my protégé Brandon. It went something like this: “Did you say that your Dad just wired his emergency generator into his electrical panel?” His answer was: “Yes, just be sure to shut off all your power when you start the generator and don’t use any big loads.”

With that I was off to Harbor Freight to buy a Generator and 30A Extension Cable and then to Home Depot to get the necessary 30A / 240V breakers that I needed to wire the Generator into the 200A Panel in the Barn. When I did this in 2020 I had to modify some of the components to work but now all parts and pieces are readily available. By 10:30 that night I had power to the House and the Barn. But that was only the beginning...

I installed the generator behind the Barn because from there it would be 500’ from the House and I wouldn’t hear it. The first level of my bank Barn housed my shop which gave me a 30 AMP 240V outlet that was already wired into the Barn panel. Changing that receptacle allowed me to use a 30 AMP generator extension cord to reach of the Generator stationed outside the garage door. That was all I needed to do to put the Generator power to the Barn and the House.

I purchased a 9000 kw generator at Harbor Freight for $600 because I intended to power both buildings but it was far too large... Very shortly after putting it in service, it failed. The reason being, since I was using so little power overnight, generators that are too large tend to fail. An Electrician friend verified that about Emergency Generators, large generators operating under no load conditions tend to fail. Proper maintenance for generators is monthly operation if you choose to do, however, the newer generators are bulletproof and can sit for long periods without starting.

It was early March and It was still cold outside, especially overnight, but I had Natural Gas heat and the largest Electrical 220V load was the Furnace fan which consumes .7 kw/hr and my Well and Septic pumps which consume very little electricity for short periods. The refrigerators, LED lights, and electronic devices were the only other loads deemed essential and they are all 120v loads which pose their own problems.

Fueling the generator and trying to get on a schedule became the first issue. At first, the only things I needed to keep running were the Refrigerators and the Pumps. My heat was from two vented Natural Gas stoves, so I got in the habit of turning off the generator at night and restarting it in the morning... but that didn’t last long. Since the barn was 500’ from the house, just servicing the generator with gas (12 Hrs burns 5 Gal of gasoline) becomes a chore that requires time and effort, so the two trips (one to stop and one to start) to the generator are a total waste of both time and effort with no observable benefit.

I then got into trying to live life as normally as possible by spending the mornings in the House and the afternoons in the Barn. I had plenty of power in the 9000W generator so I started to experiment with operating the different systems in the House and Barn like the HVAC, Electric Oven, Washer/Dryer (Natural Gas), Refrigerators, etc... Remember, Lights (LED) and Electronics are almost Free.

Overnight, I would let the generator run, tending it on the 12-hour / 5 Gal Gas schedule. Overnight electrical usage would drop to near zero and that eventually made the 9000 KW Generator crash; not using it overnight causes large Generators to fail. This was verified by an Electrical Contractor friend of mine. The 9000 KW generator failed in the first month.

I purchased the 9000 KW unit because it was electric start however, the starter failed early on. Since I was using so little electricity I felt that a 6500 KW would be sufficient to power the House and Barn I replaced the 9000 KW with the 6500 KW unit which Harbor Freight did without complaint, since I bought the Warranty, and this time I went for the manual pull start.

Now you remember that I was shutting the generator down and restarting it daily in an effort to save gasoline however this is a terrible idea with no apparent benefit. Normal operation dictates that you refill the generator with 5 gallons of gasoline every 12 hours without shutting down the generator. So theoretically, you only have to start the generator for a month at time… and the manual pull start has started on the first pull nearly every time.

After spending a morning in the House I would turn nearly everything off and head to the Barn to carry on a normal day which would include using the Furnace Fan, Refrigerator, Lights and Electronics. My experimentation included running my 15” Planer 220V, Table Saw 220V, Cistern Pump 110V. Everything seemed to work fine as long as I was using only one or two appliances; but when I would forget and leave something on in the House or try to run two appliances at the same time, I started crashing the Generator.

Now, everytime that the generator would crash, it would put me into a panic to get it back on. This is when I learned that you need to have a Startup/Shutdown Procedure that you follow. I’m pretty sure that the crashing Generator was the cause of the destruction of EVERY power strip, computer UPSs, Geothermal Heat Pump Motherboard and starters, TVs and other electronic devices powered from the House or Barn panels. Laptop Computers and other electronic devices that are powered from a DC power supply are safe from this type of crash.

The correct Startup procedure is exactly how Brandon explained it… “Just be sure to shut off all your power when you start the generator and don’t use any big loads.”

What you Need to Know to Hook yourself up

The parts and pieces of hooking up an emergency generator like this are few and don’t cost much today. An Emergency Generator (EG), two 30A breakers (and room in your Main Panel), a 30 Amp Power Inlet Box, 10-3 NM W/G wire to run from the Power inlet box to the Main Panel and perhaps the most important device, a Generator Interlock Kit.

The Generator Interlock Kit is designed to prevent your generator from generating power back into the electrical grid and forces you to shut the Main OFF prior to activating the EG’s breakers. You will notice from the pictures and instructions that your generator’s breakers must be installed in specific slots in the Main Panel to be installed properly. An Electrical Inspection by an Inspection Agency will probably be required if a Permit is required by your Municipality.

In today’s marketplace the Generator is an extremely cost effective device to have. While companies like Generac want to convince you that you need, that couldn’t be further from the truth. I started out with a 9000kw and ended up with a 6500kw… Contractor buddies of mine use the same size generators for their houses when the power goes out. Now if you several people living in the home, a larger generator may be in order, but don’t forget, this is an Emergency.

The key to the small generator is conservation of power. You don’t run the A/C or electric furnaces or heaters, limited use of electric dryers (gas or propane is good), or dishwashers… use your head. LED Lights, TV's (not too big), computers, internet, and other electronic devices don’t use much power and provide great benefit.

How to get hooked up

If you’re comfortable working inside your panel, this is perfect for the Contractor or DIY. If you’re not comfortable with working inside your panel, find a family member of friend who is… You may even know an electrician…

Call your Municipality to see if a Permit is necessary, If so, apply.

Drawings and Materials you will Need