Reliance Controls 30216BRK - Manual (Page 3)

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
The circuit breaker label on the top of your transfer switch should be completed after installation to help you in
managing the load on 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.
Generator Plugged into
Power Inlet on Transfer
Switch with 20-foot
Cord
Page 2
Example Generator and
Transfer Switch Installation