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ABOUT GENERATORS AND TRANSFER SWITCHES
Generators and transfer switches are dependent on one another as a system to power your home in a power out
situation. The Reliance Controls transfer switch system is needed because 1) your portable generator is very powerful and
the power it creates must be safely controlled to protect you and your electric utility provider, and 2) even with all of its power,
your generator probably cannot power all of the electrical circuits and devices in your home without help from a transfer
switch with load management capabilities.
The Reliance Controls transfer switch is designed to let you control and distribute your generator’s power. It correctly
distributes the power from your portable generator to your home circuitry through your electrical load center. It also
eliminates the need for messy cords running to your electrical appliances through open doors and windows. The Reliance
Controls transfer switch working with your generator takes the worry and inconvenience from power outage situations.
The Reliance Controls transfer switch distributes the power from your generator through its toggle switches to the
corresponding selected branch circuits that power the major appliances you choose to operate during a power outage (such
as your sump pump, refrigerator or furnace). However, because each of these branch circuits may power several other
electrical devices other than your major appliances, such as the items plugged into wall sockets and permanently installed
lighting, we recommend that you do a little pre-planning by:
1. Picking the key electrical appliances you want to power in an emergency
2. Finding the essential circuit breakers that control these devices
3. Creating a map of all of the other electrical devices plugged into or wired into these circuits
A tear-off Home Circuit Mapping Chart on the back of this manual should be completed and posted next to your transfer
switch to help you in managing the load on your generator. Make sure you note on the chart which electrical devices you will
not need during a power outage so that these can be turned off prior to starting your generator.
During a power outage, you can run your generator and transfer switch system in two ways:
•
You can set up your transfer switch to run all of its circuits at the same time once you flip the toggles to the GEN position.
Setting your system up in this way will be discussed in the “Balancing the Load” section later.
•
You can also use the load management function of the Reliance Controls transfer switch that allows you to alternate the
devices you choose to run at any given time. If your generator is running at or near its maximum output, selected circuits
can be switched off and others can be switched on for brief periods of time. For example, you can run a microwave oven
for a brief period from the transfer toggle switch that controls your microwave circuit, if you first turn off the transfer switch
toggle switch that controls your furnace—for that same brief period.
Typical Generator and Transfer Switch Installations
Generator Plugged into Outdoor Power Inlet
Box Wired to Transfer Switch Next to
Basement Load Center
(POSSIBLE KIT INSTALLATION)
Generator Plugged into Interchangeable
Power Inlet on Transfer Switch with
20-foot Cord
(POSSIBLE INSTALLATION WITH
AVAILABLE RELIANCE ACCESSORIES)
Generator Plugged into Outdoor Power Inlet
Box Wired to Transfer Switch Next to Garage
Load Center
(POSSIBLE KIT INSTALLATION)
