Generator Safety During a Power Outage
A generator turns a long outage from a crisis into an inconvenience. It can also kill quietly. Carbon monoxide from generator exhaust is odorless, colorless and quick to build up, and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission counts roughly 100 deaths a year from portable generator CO in its recent releases.
Almost all of that harm comes from a small number of mistakes. Know them and avoid them, and a generator is a safe, useful tool.
Carbon monoxide comes first
Any gasoline, propane or natural gas engine produces carbon monoxide. In an enclosed or partly enclosed space, it can reach dangerous levels in minutes, and you may not smell anything. Symptoms of poisoning look like the flu: headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, confusion. People who are asleep can die without noticing anything.
Where a portable generator can and cannot run
The CPSC is blunt: never use a portable generator inside a home or garage, even if doors and windows are open. Opening a garage door or window does not provide enough ventilation to prevent lethal levels. The same applies to basements, crawlspaces and sheds, and CPSC also warns against placing one on a porch or in a carport, where it sits too close to the house.
Run it outdoors only, at least 20 feet from the house, with the exhaust pointed away from the home and from neighbors. Keep it clear of windows, doors and vents that could pull exhaust inside. Keep it on a level, dry surface, protected from rain without being enclosed in a way that traps fumes. If you have a covered setup, follow the manufacturer’s instructions about open-sided canopies, since a closed one is not safe.
Alarms and what to do if one sounds
CPSC recommends battery-operated or battery-backup carbon monoxide alarms on every level of the home and outside sleeping areas, ideally interconnected so that when one sounds they all do. Test them before storm season and replace batteries as the manufacturer instructs. If an alarm sounds or anyone feels sick while a generator is running, get everyone outside into fresh air immediately and call 911. Do not go back in to turn the generator off. CPSC also advises buying a generator with an automatic carbon monoxide shutoff feature if you can.
Never backfeed through a household outlet
Backfeeding means plugging a generator into a wall outlet, often with a homemade cord that has a plug on each end, to power the house wiring. It is dangerous and contrary to electrical code. Power flows backward through your meter, out onto the utility lines and through the neighborhood transformer, where it can be stepped up to lethal voltage. Line workers who believe a line is dead can be electrocuted. It can also start fires in your own wiring and destroy the generator when utility power returns.
Alabama Power’s storm guidance says the same thing in plain terms: plug appliances directly into the generator, and do not plug the generator into your home’s wiring.
The safe ways to connect a generator
There are two safe approaches. The first is to plug appliances straight into the generator with heavy-duty extension cords. The second is to have a licensed electrician install a transfer switch or an interlock arrangement with a generator inlet, which isolates the house from the utility and feeds selected circuits properly. The second option is how a house gets powered without cords through windows. Either way, no workaround is acceptable, and anything that connects to your panel is licensed electrician work.
Cords, loads and wet conditions
Use outdoor-rated, heavy-duty extension cords with a wire gauge sized for the load and the length, and replace any with frayed insulation or damaged plugs. Lay cords where they will not be tripped over, pinched in a door, or sit in water. Do not overload the generator by plugging in more than it is rated for. Never operate a generator with wet hands, standing in water, or in rain without proper protection.
Fuel handling and storage
Turn the generator off and let it cool before refueling; spilled fuel on a hot engine can ignite. Store gasoline only in approved, labeled containers, outside living areas and away from ignition sources like water heaters, pilot lights and the generator itself. Keep propane cylinders outdoors and upright. Do not store more fuel than you reasonably need, and rotate old gasoline, which degrades. Keep a fire extinguisher nearby.
If you want house power without extension cords, have a licensed electrician install a transfer switch or inlet. Never connect a generator to the home by plugging it into an outlet.