SupportA temporary power system without a transfer switch would be about as useful as a television with no remote. In the event of an outage, transfer switches step up to the plate and shift your home or business from running off utility power to generator power. Plus, transfer switches make sure that a circuit is never connected to both your generator and utility at the same time. If it weren’t for transfer switches, all the electricity that your generator creates could backfeed into the electric grid. This would flood the system with unwanted electricity that can cause a serious hazard for linemen working on utility lines. Negligent backfeeding of utility lines would leave the person responsible at fault if a lineman were injured or killed.
Transfer switches fall into two of four main categories: manual, automatic, service entry, and non-service entry. Automatic and manual transfer switches are exactly as they sound. An automatic transfer switch (ATS) includes special sensors that detect when the grid is down and automatically kick your generator into gear. Automatic transfer switches offer you the most convenience of the two and are ideal for applications that rely on a stable stream of power, such as a hospital, airport, or other emergency facilities.
Although manual transfer switches require a physical person to manually switch over to backup power, it does have its own advantages. For example, manual transfer switches don’t include sensors that detect when utility power is down. This makes them a less expensive option than their automatic counterpart. In addition, they require less materials and wiring than automatic switches so they’re much simpler to maintain.
As far as service entrance versus non-service entrance transfer switches, service entrance switches are specially designed to take in power from utility sources. They include an overcurrent protection mechanism, such as a circuit breaker, that opens and closes access to utility power. Service entrance transfer switches do a great job gatekeeping utility power to prevent backfeeding.
A non-service entrance transfer switch doesn’t include a circuit breaker or any other type of overcurrent protection. So, they are ideal for situations where a circuit breaker or fused switch has already been installed. Having these pre-installed makes sure that there are already systems in place to stop backfeeding and that a main shutoff is present to safeguard against emergencies.
What is a Dual-Voltage Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS)?
Our inventory is filled with Dual-Voltage TruOne ATS by Power Assemblies. We carefully selected the TruOne ATS because of its quality, budget-friendly price, and its ability to be applied to a wide range of applications. At this point, you may be wondering what a dual-voltage transfer switch is and how it can benefit you. Simply put, a dual-voltage transfer switch can detect the voltage in your system and operate at that level with a simple adjustment in the Human Machine-Interface Panel (HMI). Since dual-voltage transfer switches can work at both voltage levels, they give you some wiggle room to adapt to different projects.
Our TruOne Dual-Voltage ATS also includes a unique, open-transition design that can operate automatically or manually for extra flexibility. It is available in 100A – 1200A variations and has an all-purpose design that makes it ideal for temporary power applications across all industries. We also offer wall-mountable, floor-mountable, and skid-mount designs so that you can install the TruOne ATS in any way that fits your needs. We also highly recommend using our ATS to provide emergency power for hospitals, data centers, and airports.
All of our equipment is designed to provide our customers with the best value in the industry. Everything that we offer has been tested in our manufacturer’s facilities before shipping and it arrives to you pre-assembled and ready to perform. Our team is always here to support you if you ever have any emergency power questions or need help selecting the right equipment for your project.
If you’d like to request a quote on our TruOne ATS or would like to learn more about our collection of cable assemblies, power distribution units, and replacement parts – we’re only an email away! Please contact us today at [email protected] and we’ll be happy to help you enhance your standby power setup.