[TowerTalk] generators/transfer switches etc Re: Yet AnotherLightning Strike

[Ed Privette]

For those of you in the planning stage of a "whole house" system. I 
live on a mountain ridge 1.1 miles from a public road. We have an 
Onan 12kw hardwired backup system on propane and also a 40w solar 
system to run several 12v fluorescent lights, a very small LCD TV and 
a cell phone charger. If you live in a lightning prone area I'd stay 
away from automatic transfer switches. In five years mine has been 
replaced twice at $1k due to very minor surges that caused no damage 
to anything else. The monstrous 200A  manual transfer switch totally 
isolates your generator.