Whole House Backup Generator

With Automatic Transfer Switch

Backup Generator Runs Whole House Including A/C!

With a whole house backup generator and automatic transfer switch this custom home really does have all the amenities you need.

Electricity here in Western Illinois, south of the Quad Cities, is both affordable and reliable yet no power grid is up 100% of the time.

This is Illinois and the occasional ice storm or even a squirrel getting fried on a transformer can result in the loss of power at any time of the year, even on a calm blue sky day (it happened once, R.I.P. Mr. Squirrel).

The benefits to having the LP Gas powered backup generator is that when the power does go out for any reason, simply count to 7 and the lights, refrigerator, air conditioning or heat, will be back on.

If you work at home, as I do, you will be back to work on your computer with lights too.

Kohler 20KW Backup Generator and Automatic Transfer Switch

This home and beautiful shop are protected against power loss with a Kohler 20KW LP Gas powered whole house backup generator and connected through an automatic transfer switch.

As you can see from the photo upper left, the generator is protected and housed inside the building. You won’t be standing out in the hot, cold or freezing rain when performing maintenance; nor will you be trying to work through small access panels in a housing.

The scheduler runs the generator as often as you want for exercise. For the life of this unit we have run it every two weeks for one half hour, on load. There is a 10 minute cool down with no load before it shuts off.

While the fully insulated building almost never gets below freezing, the engine is made sure to warm and ready to go on an instants notice with an engine block heater.

Generator Powers Everything You Need

The generators rated capacity is 20KW, around 79 amps. Testing was done with every appliance running and both air conditioners started up, well pump too.

The generator will briefly drop RPM when an A/C compressor starts up, but then immediately takes the load with no problem.

A few outlets in the Morton Building are not on backup generator power and are labeled as such. The 220v air compressor, the electric water heater (which could be run easily with a drop cord), the window air conditioner in the shop and the generator’s own engine heater outlet (makes no sense) are not on backup power just to help insure not going over capacity of the generator or transfer switch.

Since the generator is inside the building and the engine fan blows air through the radiator, there is an air intake damper in the ceiling of the building to replace air exhausted through the radiator to the outside.

Similarly, the engine exhaust is piped outside through a fire prevention rated thimble out the building wall. See photo gallery below.

During a rare winter ice storm this area was without power for several days. This homes power was restored before many other areas due to its ideal location, despite being “rural”. The power was out for about 56 hours yet life for our family continued as usual, not even noticing any difference in power service.

Other families vacated their homes or suffered hardship due to lack of power; a whole house backup generator is a very nice feature in such times. Never do you worry about losing freezer food, refrigerated items or frozen pipes. (In this home, the fireplace would make frozen pipes a non-worry but I digress!)

With this generator, it will consume about 1.7 gallons of LP Gas per hour under load. It is connected to 2 of the homes 3 1000 gallon LP Gas tanks. Way more than enough to out last a power outage!

So with this type of backup power generator, you are not hauling around jugs of gasoline trying to keep power to your home and hoping the local gas station has power.

You don’t need to be a full-on prepper to enjoy having a whole house backup generator, all you have to like is convenience, a little self reliance and the piece of mind knowing that you are prepared.

This custom home on 87 acres of the most beautiful land in Western Illinois is for sale and can be yours. Contact Us today!