Read the manual thoroughly and understand all of the instructions, cautions, and warnings before using this equipment. If any section of the manual is not understood, contact your nearest authorized dealer, or contact Generac Customer Service at 1-888-436-3722 (1-888-GENERAC), or www.generac.com with any questions or concerns. 

Home standby generator start up time

Start up time (the time that elapses between a utility outage and when the backup unit beings supplying power to the home) depends on the number of cranks it takes to start and if the cold smart start is enabled and it's cold. Assuming a best case start is 5 seconds, it can be as little as 15 seconds to start and transfer and as high as a little over 3 minutes. 

Environment

This article applies to home standby generators connected in an automated home backup system.

Start up times for home standby units

Home standby Start Time (time between utility outage and when the unit begins supplying power to the home): 15 seconds to 194 seconds (3 minutes, 14 seconds). See below for calculations.

• Line interrupt delay: 5 seconds

The system will control the cyclic cranking as follows: 

10 kW Start up delay range: 5 to 159 seconds

• Crank 15 seconds, Rest 7 seconds, then C 15, R 7, C 15, R 7, C 15, R 7, C 15, R 7, C7, R7, C7, R7, C7, R7, C7

14 to 26 kW Start up delay range: 5 to 81 seconds

• Crank 16 seconds, Rest 7 seconds, then C 16, R 7, C 7, R 7, C 7, R 7, C 7

Warm up is typically 5 to 30 seconds. The standard is 5 seconds. If Cold Smart Start is enabled and the temperature is below a certain level warmup time is 30 seconds: What is Cold Smart Start?

 

How does a home standby system transfer power?

Power transfer occurs when the generator controller senses a utility loss from the N1 and N2 sensing wires. The controller sends a signal to the the ATS that causes power to transfer over to the generator. See: How Does an Automatic Transfer Switch Work?

Can the start up time be adjusted?

See: Can the Startup Delay Time for a Home Standby Generator Be Adjusted?

What if power never transfers?

See: Why Didn't My Home Standby Generator Turn On During a Power Outage?