Can you run a light off a circuit that is not tied into your standby?

Would that be pretty easy to do canguy? I am trying to think in my limited electrical experience how you could do that. I know that transfer works to disconnect your main as the supply and move it to your generator and prevents your generator from feeding back into the system and electrocuting any linemen that may be working on the system. I guess you would have to hook something up prior to your transfer that could serve as an indicator.

Actually the common transfer switches for home generators don`t disconnect the mains, the switch is in a subpanel box with several circuits that you want energized at all times and is a mains disconnect for that subpanel only. Consequently any electrical appliances or lights on the other circuits will be energized when when grid power is restored.

Now if a person is to backfeed the generator into their building they must open the entrance panel mains or they will feed the grid, at least momentarily until their genset chokes and dies. In this scenario you can always watch for street lights and lights or other signs of electric service at your neighbor`s homes.

My switch does disconnect the mains, so there is no way to check from inside the house. I am in a rural area so the neighbors lights aren't a good indication.

My guess is that an indicator light off the mains would take quite a bit of "stuff" (circuit breaker, separate weatherproof box, etc) to pass code. I'm thinking the only reasonable solution would be if something was already available and packaged into a little box.

I've got a nice spot for my generator - but the transfer switch (although nearby electrically) is a longer walk around the deck and likely through the snow.

thanks...Jim

"My switch does disconnect the mains..."
I`ll be darned, something I was mistaken about!
HAHAHAHA!!

I wonder if your utility has an indicator light that could be wired into your meter socket? This would of course necessitate killing the power at the pole or wiring it hot, might get expensive. You could also put a voltmeter on the incoming lines before your disconnect, if it shows voltage you have grid power.

How about your transformer, does it have any indication on it such as a light? Some do and I know that my ground mounted transformer faintly hums when juiced up.

Hi,

In general there are two popular ways of wiring up a generator to the house.

1) The "Frankenstein" one big transfer switch + subpanel.
2) Sub panel with a number of mini-transfer switches. One switch for each circuit.

Type one is more expensive, and is usually employed on automatic siwtch
over upon power failure type setups.

Type two is cheaper, and is usually used in manual switch over setups.

To test for when the power comes back on:

If you have type one, you need to find a circuit whcih is not on the transfer-switched subpanel. If the transfer switch cuts over everything, you need to rewire, or just "poll" to see when the power is back. Polling is not that bad. You can have your generator on all the time, but it surre is expensive. You will probablly only want to run it for a while, then shutdown for a while ... When you shutdown you can check to see it the power has been restored.

In type two, you need to have a light on a circuit not on the mini-transfer switch circuits.

Best, Mike.

simple solution. onthe POCO side of your transfer swith install a light bulb with a small fuse. commercial power available, light is on. running on genny, the light is off until commercial power comes back. you look up, see the light, and you know you can shut down the gen set.

you do not have to mount the light right on the transfer switch. but you DO have to use code approved connections, wire and fuse panels.