Danger At Home

We all want to save money, but when it comes down to it, we should not put our financial future at risk to save a few dollars now.

Many home owners opt to hook up their own backup power generators, when the lights go out, but there is a right way and a wrong way to set up a backup power supply system. We will review the Safety Do's and Don't's associated with backup power generators in this website. Thank you for your interest.

Never hook up your backup power generator directly to your house's main power supply, unless you include a double throw transfer switch into the system. The purpose of the transfer switch is to shut-off the power when certain conditions are met. Single transfer switches will prevent your electric power generator from back-feeding into the main electric power grid. Double throw transfer switches will shut-down the power feed into your house from back-feeding into the power grid AND it will shut-down the feed into your house when your regular power supply is coming back into your home.

It is absolutely essential to prevent your backup power generation system from back-feeding electricity into the primary power grid! Absolutely essential... I cannot emphasize that enough. If your power generator is back-feeding into the main power grid, then utility workers can be injured or killed while they are working on restoring power on a system they believe has no power running through it. We know that you would not want to injure another human being, but beyond that desire, you can and will be held financially and perhaps even criminally responsible in the event that your backup power supply causes injury or death to a utility worker!

It is strongly recommended that you hire a professional and licensed electrician to connect your backup power generator directly to your home or business. Yes, it may cost you a couple hundred dollars, but that is a far better price to pay than the cost of endangering others, including your family. There are just so many ways that a poorly setup electrical connection can endanger other people, including you.

My homeowners and business owners opt to setup a permanent backup power generator. Often, these folks will tie their system directly to their natural gas lines to ensure that they will not have to refill their diesel power generator at the most inconvenient times. If you decide to get a natural gas power generator, again having a professional and licensed plumber do the hookups is strongly recommended. Any loose fitting connections on your natural gas supply could put your family and business at risk of a natural gas explosion.


Most homeowners who employ a backup power generator during a power outage employ the type of generator that you plug your individual appliances into. There are safety tips also in this regard.

Again, never plug a power cord directly from your temporary power generator into a wall outlet in your home. Back-feeding electrical power into the main power grid is just one factor. The greatest danger in doing this is that your home's power grid may not be able to handle the flood of electricity running into the house socket you have chosen. The greatest risk you face when doing this is one of fire hazard.

Before buying a power generator, you should always do a power consumption checklist to accurately determine how much power you will need to operate the equipment you want to keep running. It is always better to have a few watts more than you need, than it is to not have enough power. If you do not have enough electricity to operate all of the equipment you want to keep running, then you will run the risk of brownouts (where demand exceeds supply). Some electronics will burn out if subjected to brownouts. Saving $50 dollars now against a bigger electric generator will seem like such a small amount when you find yourself replacing the motor in your refrigerator.

When you run power cords to your electrical equipment, make darn sure that your power cords are not frayed or damaged. To do otherwise would invite the risk of an electrical fire.

Do not run your power cords under rugs or mats. Same thing applies here as well. If you run your power cords under rugs, the cord may get too hot, which could result in its burning through its insulation or it could even catch the rug itself on fire directly.


Yes, a continuous supply of electricity is important to all of us, but your health and financial security are more important than all of the electrical appliances you might own.