Does your home automatically shut off from the grid when the generator starts up?
Yes, it does. And it would be very noticeable very quickly, as lots of other stuff would come on that is currently off.
At this point, the generator is only partially installed. As I mentioned, the electricians working on our basement project installed it this week, but for them, it isn't a high priority. For me, on the other hand... So, they still need to come back and hook up one of the heat pumps and a few of the appliances. Right now, none of the major kitchen appliances, or the washer or dryer, are connected.
But we can unplug the microwave from its outlet and plug it into one of the functioning wall outlets in the kitchen, we can use the coffee maker, and the electric frying pan, as well. My wife anticipated the storm and cooked several days’ worth of meals that can be nuked, we can fry eggs, or we could even cook steaks if we wanted, the fridge is working fine, we have running water, working toilets, Internet, e-mail, TV... it's PARADISE!! LOL!!
I actually had the electrician out here yesterday, as the rain and wind was picking up, until about 4 pm, hooking up more stuff. Truly, I'm a slave-driver.
Well, I surveyed the property a little more closely. Other than some broken tree branches (we have a pretty good number of trees), and the fact that some parts of the yard could now officially be declared wetlands, no visible damage.
I don't know when we'll get our power back. But I went out and looked at the fuel guage, and I'm guessing that at the current rate of consumption, I'm using about a gallon of propane an hour, or even less, so I could hold out here without BGE for a week or more.
sitetest
Mid Long Island, NY here 7AM.
Power still on just windy and rainy so far. Nothing too major at this point. God bless you all wherever you are.