Installing generator transfer switch

For emergancy light I have one of these,
1794311889930.png
I really need some more, but they light for 4 hours after a power cut, and can be used to find other touches etc.

I inherited this Battery pack and charger.jpg the inverter is only 300 watt, so of limited use, but the 15 Ah lead acid battery will power an up-lighter for quite some time, today we have these 1794312169140.pngwhich do basic the same thing, it is called EPS rather than UPS (uninterruptible power supply) as its change over time is slightly longer, still less than a second.

Due to weight, in the main limited to around 3 kW in the portable form as shown, you can get a Tesla power wall etc, at 10 kWh, but they can't be put in the boot of your car, as to if 300 watt or 3 kW is required is down to what you want to run, the cheap freezers has a high start inrush, maybe 6 amps (1.4 kW) where the more expensive inverter control models may be around 200 watt, less than 1 amp when in defrost mode, rest of the time less than 100 watts.

I have solar panels, so my inverter is 5 kW and part of the solar install, with 6.4 kWh of battery, which will stop discharging at 10% so always 640 Wh how much more depends on time of day I get a power cut.

The old 12 volt to 230 inverter is only 150 watt, I made up a lead, Emergancy power kit.jpg so I can use old car batteries to power anything using a cig lighter plug, hope I will never need it, but I have two old 90 Ah batteries which would keep me going some time.

The inverter generator 1794313086620.pngreasonable sound level, but needs to be outside, so first consideration is how to get power in the house, 1794313574097.png1794313630650.png I have the same problem, even with an inverter, can't get the cables through the house internally, so done external. Under that window I have a box for mail, could put a generator or battery in a box like that, as it stands I can manage for around a day with no power in winter, and weeks in summer due to solar. I do have an open grate fire, which could be opened up, but having the central heating still working seems a better idea, which I have until battery goes flat.

But the main point is how far do you go just in case? Window cracked open with an extension lead into the house is likely good enough, with generator sitting outside. I have a gas camping stove, and one would hope any loss of power will not be for long.
 
I was about to write a few lines explaining how to identify AI generated posts, but I recall that this apparently will 'tip off' the poster. To be fair all the points about are quite valid.
 
Except I don’t think anyone has mentioned a lead with plugs on both ends. All I can remember is a plug wired to an appropriate transfer switch.
 
@JasperW Please stop immediately and read this carefully before purchasing or plugging anything in. What you have described contains multiple critical life-safety hazards and misunderstandings of UK electrical regulations (BS 7671):...
Thanks, this is exactly the sort of information I was looking for!

1. What you are suggesting as a connector is what I was assuming I needed but didn't know what to ask for.

2. Yes, this makes complete sense and has taught me something (quite a lot actually)!

3. Point 2 now explains why the earthing rod is so important.

4. I would never try installing this myself! But I do want to understand why things need to be done in a certain way so when I do get an electrician to quote for the work I understand what I am paying for and can have a sensible conversation about the work.

In the mean time I'll just go with the original plan to run an extension lead into the house and power lamps and the fridge freezer off that.
 
Except I don’t think anyone has mentioned a lead with plugs on both ends. All I can remember is a plug wired to an appropriate transfer switch.
Yes, that is correct, but it still looks incredibly "Wrong" to my eyes even if it is functionally behaving just like an Appliance Inlet
 
Ref post #17 by Homesecurity I had not considered that you meant the "Widow Maker" type of circuit.
Perhaps you did mean this.
I do not know.

Homesecurities caution is indeed correct.
Any lead with a plug each end is potentially fatal for mains voltages.
Any lead with an electrical potential (say on the output terminals of a generator or other source) of mains electricity is also potentially fatal if it has a plug on the end too.
I do hope you are not considering having any lead anywhere with a voltage approaching or exceeding 50 volts anywhere if it has a plug on it. In normal dry conditions - in other conditions such as bthrooms, swimming pools and outside then half that voltage to 25v max , better still do not do it anyway.
Anything with any voltage on it should not have a plug on the end.
 
It seems it is OK if on a solar panel? I have seen the widow maker used a lot in Turkey, and the deaths don't seem to be that high, the problem is we are educated that if dangerous it would not be allowed, so we are not as careful with electric as those living in Turkey.
 
It seems it is OK if on a solar panel?
The only reason that is allowed; is that the solar inverter must comply with the specification that it switches off in less time than you could touch the pins, if you pull the plug out. That won't happen with any generator you can buy at the moment.
 
The solar inverter is classed as a generator, I personally don't think it is safe to allow reverse flow, not only due to live pins, but also damaging safety equipment like RCDs, but the government has allowed it.
 
The solar inverter is classed as a generator,
Calling it that does not change the fact that the inverter must meet EN 50549 and EREC G98, and disconnect in 1 sec, which a generator doesn't (and let's face it, couldn't).

I would agree that the new rules were made by politicians who didn't really understand electrical safety. They could have enforced a much better connection system, but their hand was really forced by this already becoming the norm in the EU.
 
Calling it that does not change the fact that the inverter must meet EN 50549 and EREC G98, and disconnect in 1 sec, which a generator doesn't (and let's face it, couldn't).

An inverter generator could, if so designed.
 

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