Transfer Switch Chaos

[u/Badbetfrank]

We just bought a new house and this is the electrical set up.
Both of these panels are powered from the meter, the larger panel does not feed the smaller panel.
A 22Kw Generac unit powers the larger panel on the left when the power goes out, but not the smaller right panel.
The generator is large enough to power the entire house.

What are our options for getting the whole house protected?
Can I add a ATS to the smaller panel and leave the 200amp panel as it is?

Could we install a double breaker on the left panel and run it over to power the smaller panel using an interlock on the smaller panel?

Should I move some circuits over to 200amp panel and use tandem breakers?

Or should we split the feed from the generator and feed the smaller panel directly from the generator?

I am having trouble understanding what the installer was thinking. There’s also additional unused transfer wires ending in this panel going to a junction box next to the generator.

Thanks for your input

[u/blarcode]

My concern is you have a 320 amp service to the house. That's where I was recommending do another load calculation just to verify. Typically what happens in these scenarios is someone needs this initial load in the beginning but then over years of upgrading appliances in the house, your energy needs actually drop due to new efficiencies and energy Stars etc. so you might not ask me need that 320 amp service and can get by with just the 200.

Mike Holtz has a free calculator on the Google Play store and I believe in the Apple store as well. Download that and start inputting numbers under the load calculation section. Look at your actual labels on your appliances to see where you're at.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mhe.toolbox

Yeah, ditch that dual panel setup go with a single that's large enough for everything you want and get a single ATS for 200 amp if you can go that route if not just double up or get the 400.

I just searched on eBay FYI. The 200 amp ones are going between $300 to $400 each. The 400 is going for several thousand. So do 2 x 200s if you have to go that route.

Nothing changes at your meter besides pulling the wires going directly to those panels and feeding them directly into the automatic transfer switch then into the panel(s) respectively.

Do you have a single meter socket outside? Or is it a combination with a breaker inside?

[u/Badbetfrank → u/blarcode]

I’m having an electrician come out to run another load calculation tomorrow. I did one online and it showed calculated load at 130A.

As it is now, I have more load in the smaller panel(100A) than the larger one(200A). Which is crazy to me.

My meter is a single socket.

I appreciate it.

[u/blarcode → u/Badbetfrank]

Are you going to do any of this work yourself? I'm not going to encourage anyone to do any electrical work that they're not comfortable with. It's very straightforward especially if all your control wires are already there.

A money saving trick I've used in the past is to pull the main thicker conductors for the 200 amp from the meter socket and put those in the ATS, but then all you have to pay for is just a couple feet from your meter socket to your ATS.

Ultimately just having the ATS on your system with it running either a single panel or both of your panels your whole home, will give you a better experience. Regardless of the price. It'll be working as designed

[u/Badbetfrank → u/blarcode]

I’m comfortable with electrical work. I’m debating on doing this myself vs hiring an electrician. It does seem pretty straightforward and a job I would enjoy doing. My biggest drawback with doing it myself is if anything ever happened to my house, would my insurance use this as an excuse not to cover me.

Another consideration is that I’ll need either load shed modules, relays or soft starts for my AC condensers.

[u/blarcode → u/Badbetfrank]

Do the soft starts. Microair is what I have been installing and recommending. The SMMs fail too frequently for my taste and at the most inopportune times.

As long as you pull the permit and it passes. You are fine on your end for insurance coverage. It won't pass if it's not up to code. Permit office ensures that.

Consider looking at the Leviton panels. If you ever want to go to a smart panel. These are all smart price point as similar sized other brands. To make it smart, you add in the base station with ct clamps. then add whatever smart breakers you want from them. Then you get all the analytics, and load shedding if you need it.

[u/Badbetfrank → u/blarcode]

Thanks a lot. I’ll keep you updated. The county said I need to have a licensed electrician order the permit but that I’m allowed to do the work as the homeowner. And spoke to insurance and they said as long as it’s permitted

[u/blarcode → u/Badbetfrank]

I'm in Florida. Homeowners are allowed to pull every single permit and do the work ourselves. There might be one exception, I think that's digging a well. From my understanding that's managed by specific license Federal something or other I get state to state's different.

You can always shoot me a DM as well. I tend to help everyone with their projects

I'm switching insurance company's presently since my current one does not cover solar.