Hooking up generator to panel using interlock switch (price, vs, electrical)
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What's the deal with trying to find a generator with a floating neutral vs a bonded neutral when hooking it up to my electrical panel that has an interlock switch (50 amp power inlet on the side of the house to hook it up to). I also have a Reliance MB125 power meter for the generator.
The electrician said get a generator with a floating neutral but didn't explain why. It's so hard to find a generator with a floating neutral from what I've found. I'm looking for an inverter generator that has a 240volt outlet so I can plug it into my 50 am inlet.
The Honda EU7000is has a floating neutral but it's $4999. Many people have recently been buying the Duromax XP9000 which is an inverter generator and good power like the Honda, but at $2599 so much better. I think it has a bonded neutral though.
Many in the neighborhood have interlock switches on their panel and use generators with bonded neutrals just fine (although power doesn't go out a lot in our areas so I'm sure they get minimal use).
Understood -read the link and the safety issues. Just wanted to ask since the Honda eu7000 is the only one with a floating neutral while every other inverter generator has a bonded neutral. Got a few people in the neighborhood that run generators from time to time into the house panel's interlock switch and none of them use the Honda.
Have plenty of friends who have interlocks and they have various generators, nobody even knows what a neutral is, let alone whether it's floating or bonded. Their houses run fine on the generators. The only one whose model number I know is the one with the Briggs Q6500; house runs fine on it.
You're doing it the right way with an interlock switch- my parents put in a dedicated transfer switch circuit and I hate it. Whenever they lose power they can only turn on like the 6 or 8 things on that panel (fridges and heat, basically), even though their generator is only running at like 20% capacity. I wish they did the interlock so they can select different things if it's winter vs summer, day vs night etc.
If I understand the issues correctly, whether the generator has a floating neutral vs a bonded neutral only matters if the connection to the panel is through a transfer switch.
If it's connected through an interlock (that is, through a switch connected to the panel), then the generator uses the grounding of the panel like every other device attached to the panel.
If I understand the issues correctly, whether the generator has a floating neutral vs a bonded neutral only matters if the connection to the panel is through a transfer switch.
If it's connected through an interlock (that is, through a switch connected to the panel), then the generator uses the grounding of the panel like every other device attached to the panel.
As far as i know it is the way you have indicated. The panel is grounded outside near the service box, and also inside the house. A transfer switch used by the generator when the commercial power is out, prevents the generator from transferring power to the service box.
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