Great information. I already have my entire hows plumbd for propane. Everything that can be powered by it is.
On my install all they have to do is connect it to the power box and connect the propane hose.
Your whole house xfer switch will go in between meter and panel. May require a little more work than just slapping on the wall – depends upon available space. The cable from xfer switch to panel needs to be 4 wire or equivalent. Grounds needs to be removed from neutral bar and placed onto new ground bar. (Your main panel in now a sub-panel.) GEC’s need to move from the old main panel to the xfer switch or need to be replaced/lengthened. You might need a couple of new grd rods depending on when house built.
Propane connection into the existing system needs to be made at the correct location so the gen receives proper flow and pressure and does not starve other loads along the way. This is the purpose of the gas riser diagram/calculations.
Even knowing distance isn’t the full story. Is it underground, inside, under patio, sidewalk, through the garden beds…………….
I have all of these4 things answered already. My house uses propane for everything except my pool ( not worried about that in a power outage) but it has a variable speed pump. I will just need a 20KW backup
A lot more than 4 q's...........
I am not sure why this matters but here it goes.
Entire house Propane.
2 Ac units brand new Strait AC. 4 ton and a 3.5 ton.
3200FT living ac.
Tv's Lights is all I need.
Pool Is a variable speed pump and a strait 2 HP pump. Neither need to run when power is odd.
These details matter because it is required information used in the load calculations for the connected loads and determining if load shedding is needed/ generator big enough.
SQ FT of house required b/c general lighting load is accessed @ 3va/sqft. So yours is 9600 va >> 9600w.
Add 2 small applicance ckts @1500va >>3000w
Add 1 laundry ckt @1500va >>1500w
Pool Pump 2 hp>>>2750w
First 10kw of above is assessed at 100% in the calculation. = 10KW
Over that @ 40% = ~2800w
Plus
4 Ton Ac (need the n/p min ampacity) Assume 20 amps @240v = 4800w
3.5 Ton Ac (need the n/p min ampacity) Assume 17.5 amps @240v = 4200w
Total ~ 21,800w (there are obvious omissions in the above listed loads) >>>>> So you need load shedding capability hooked up if using a 20KW gen. Also want some headroom on the gen to handle A/C constant cycling. Load shedding on 1 a/c unit is best but you could apply it to the pool pump and technically be under 20KW.
Load shedding needs to be interconnected to the chosen device(s). Depending upon interface required it can require more hardware, certainly cable of some type and extra labor.
You didn’t answer about gen pad requirements, gen location access………a pea gravel box with pre-cast pad costs less than a 4’ high platform, or a 6” poured in place pad, etc.
Now these q’s should have meaning. Cost is based upon scope of work and degree of difficulty in doing each step. That is the msg I am trying to convey and w/o pics who knows unless 1000 q's are asked.
What should be the cost of Wiring? And Cost for connecting to propane?
See above points. Only you know the site conditions and the ease or difficulty of your job. Only PlatonicSolids reply has the necessary info via pics to convey any relative degree of cost.
Jazzman: Not many years ago there were not as many choices in the home generator market (air cooled). The units being 8-12kw, most people added a sub panel with dedicated necessary items -- this sub panel became the limiting factor for the generator --- as the whole house what not connected. Today, with more affordable choices and larger air cooled generators available, people want to run more items and also to have the whole house switch over ... that does not = the generator being able to power everything should it all be on when the main service goes out.
In many parts of the country with inspections -- the rule is you must provide the potential load and the generator must be able to provide this power or have a way to keep items from coming on.
In my case the largest air cooled Cummins is 20kw -- it can't run everything in the house .. at once. With AC -- it's the start up amps 2x running amps. So while the unit can run them -- it can't start them together.
This is why you will see the unit have "load shedding" -- they monitor the load and bring the additional loads on in a cycle .. and drop them the same way.
With a manual transfer switch -- the owner has to be there .. so the theory is they are managing the load.
That's exactly the situation. (I however question the reality of manual load management!)
