Utility power comes on when running on backup generator

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Raptor1

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Hello! My home has a 30kW diesel generator for backup power. A manual transfer switch switches power from utility power (PG&E) to generator power. My question is, when running on generator power, how can I know when utility power has come back on? I am remote so neighbors and street lights are not available. I was thinking of wiring a strobe light to the utility power terminal on the transfer switch. Is this fesible or is there already a device out there that can let me know when utility power has come back on?
 
221228-1715 EST

Raptor1:

You apparently are not an electrician or electrical engineer and so I possibly should not comment.

However, I will partially comment.

Your utility source is a moderately low impedance secondary and earthed ( grounded ) somewhere near the power company transformer. No matter the position of your manual transfer switch the line from the pole transformer ( any one or more of those supply wires ) to your home should be near zero volts to earth when power is lost. Thus, a measurement of voltage from any one of the hot wires should be near 0 V to earth. Thus, knowing this voltage is a means to know whether power is available or not.

.
 
This is not a DIY site, and I will not support a DIY installation.

I will however report that I have used and like the PowerBACK unit that synchro suggested, and second the suggestion that you have your electrician install one.

Jon
 
There probably is a device there already.
its called a meter. Look at the POCO meter. If the display is on, you have power. Display off, nopower.
 
Hv&Lv said:
There probably is a device there already.
its called a meter. Look at the POCO meter. If the display is on, you have power. Display off, nopower.
Click to expand...
Looking at the meter is a good backup to a PowerBACK! but I need the audible alarm because the meter and generator is about 70' away from the house
 
gar said:
221228-1715 EST

Raptor1:

You apparently are not an electrician or electrical engineer and so I possibly should not comment.

However, I will partially comment.

Your utility source is a moderately low impedance secondary and earthed ( grounded ) somewhere near the power company transformer. No matter the position of your manual transfer switch the line from the pole transformer ( any one or more of those supply wires ) to your home should be near zero volts to earth when power is lost. Thus, a measurement of voltage from any one of the hot wires should be near 0 V to earth. Thus, knowing this voltage is a means to know whether power is available or not.

.
Click to expand...
Right I see 3 wires to the headend on my pole. So the PowerBACK! is just a voltmeter with an audible alarm. Good solution.
 
Raptor1 said:
Looking at the meter is a good backup to a PowerBACK! but I need the audible alarm because the meter and generator is about 70' away from the house
Click to expand...
Unless you plan to install wiring out to where you have access to utility side of transfer switch you maybe need a rather loud siren out there connected to the utility side of the transfer switch? Or maybe some wireless transmitter that is powered when utility power resumes and receiver in the house?

Otherwise about the only other choice is to check up every so often in some manner even if that is just looking out the window to see if some light connected to utility power has come on.
 
kwired said:
Unless you plan to install wiring out to where you have access to utility side of transfer switch you maybe need a rather loud siren out there connected to the utility side of the transfer switch? Or maybe some wireless transmitter that is powered when utility power resumes and receiver in the house?

Otherwise about the only other choice is to check up every so often in some manner even if that is just looking out the window to see if some light connected to utility power has come on.
Click to expand...
No street lights to check nearby so I could put a baby monitor out there when power goes out.
 
Raptor1 said:
Looking at the meter is a good backup to a PowerBACK! but I need the audible alarm because the meter and generator is about 70' away from the house
Click to expand...


The PowerBACK is intended for indoor use only.

Dumb question: do you have a 'smart meter'? Many POCOs now have a portal which will tell you if the power is out.

Also there are a number of products designed to scan the power company meter for status.

Finally, if it is a smart meter, a diy radio setup can tune the meter transmissions, to see if power is on.
-J
 
winnie said:
The PowerBACK is intended for indoor use only.

Dumb question: do you have a 'smart meter'? Many POCOs now have a portal which will tell you if the power is out.

Also there are a number of products designed to scan the power company meter for status.

Finally, if it is a smart meter, a diy radio setup can tune the meter transmissions, to see if power is on.
-J
Click to expand...
Maybe put PowerBACK! in an weatherproof in-use electrical outlet cover. I do have a smart meter. Internet/cellular access is not reliable when there is a power outage. Have had trouble connecting to the PG&E website to check power status. I will search for a product that can scan the meter. Thanks!
 
Here is what I wrote in 2016 about the RTL-AMR system that uses a cheap radio dongle and a cheap linux computer for decoding smart meter transmissions:

Decoding smart meter transmissions.

There appear to be different types of smart meter, and different utilities have implemented different protocols. I have not done extensive research into this, only enough to receive data from the meter mounted on my home. The hardware that I am using is known as an RTL-SDR. These are very...
forums.mikeholt.com

It appears that the RTL-AMR code is still being updated, and that there are now windows binaries available.
github.com

GitHub - bemasher/rtlamr: An rtl-sdr receiver for Itron ERT compatible smart meters operating in the 900MHz ISM band.

An rtl-sdr receiver for Itron ERT compatible smart meters operating in the 900MHz ISM band. - GitHub - bemasher/rtlamr: An rtl-sdr receiver for Itron ERT compatible smart meters operating in the 90...
github.com github.com

-Jon
 
Raptor1 said:
Maybe put PowerBACK! in an weatherproof in-use electrical outlet cover. I do have a smart meter. Internet/cellular access is not reliable when there is a power outage. Have had trouble connecting to the PG&E website to check power status. I will search for a product that can scan the meter. Thanks!
Click to expand...

The PowerBACK! doesn't have a relay contact to support a remote alarm.

Once you are starting to hack something non-standard, you enter the annoying world where you are either forced to DIY something that is dodgy at best, or pay a huge premium for a professional to invent and support a cheap system. Far better to stay with standard off the shelf products used in their standard configurations.

One standard option is to upgrade to an automatic transfer switch.

A second standard option is to have your electrician add a new main panel and convert your existing panel (with its interlocked breakers) to a subpanel. From the new main panel you will have circuits that are only on utility power. Add a simple switched light, or a horn, or any other indicator that you wish to a circuit on the utility power only side of things.

If you want to put the effort into hacking something cheap then the RTL-AMR system is fun to play with; you can also do things like track flights or listen to short wave.

-Jon
 
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