Do I need a permit for a backup generator at a BC home?

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Wiring a generator into the house takes a certified transfer switch and an electrical permit with an inspection; a propane or natural gas unit needs a gas permit too. A backup generator keeps the lights, the well pump and the furnace going through an outage. Run on extension cords, a portable one is like any other appliance; wired into the house, it's electrical work under the Safety Standards Act, and the switch between the grid and the generator is what keeps its power off the utility's lines. Look up the address or PID on PlaceDossier to see the record for that lot. Extension cords only: A portable generator running a fridge or a heater through cords plugged into its own outlets changes nothing in the house's wiring, so no permit is needed (our reading: neither Technical Safety BC's nor BC Hydro's pages say so outright). BC Hydro asks for a properly sized, CSA-approved three-pronged cord in good condition, and a cord with a ground fault circuit interrupter for power tools (its generator safety page). Never through an outlet: Plugging a generator into a house outlet, or wiring it to the panel with nothing to cut the house off from the grid, sends its power back out along the utility's lines. BC Hydro warns that power fed back this way can electrocute anyone who touches those lines: neighbours, and its own and its contractors' crews working on a line they expect to be dead (its generator safety page). The transfer switch: A generator that powers the house's own circuits needs a CSA-approved transfer switch, which cuts the house off from the grid before the generator feeds it. BC Hydro says the switch is installed under an electrical permit, and the switch and generator are inspected and approved by the electrical inspector (its generator safety page). Electrical equipment used in BC must carry a certification or approval mark (Electrical Safety Regulation s. 21 (1)). Some panels take an interlock kit in place of a separate switch: ask Technical Safety BC, or the city that issues its own permits, whether one is accepted for the panel before buying it (our reading). The electrical permit: Electrical work needs a permit for each structure with its own electrical supply (Electrical Safety Regulation s. 11 (1)), from Technical Safety BC or, in Burnaby, Maple Ridge, the City and District of North Vancouver, Vancouver, Surrey, Victoria and West Vancouver, the city. A licensed electrical contractor takes it out, or the owner of a detached house they live in may do the work under a homeowner permit, single phase up to 200 amps and 150 volts to ground, asking for an inspection before any wiring is covered or the power connected (s. 17 (1), (2), (4), (5)). Technical Safety BC says owners of a strata unit or a non-strata duplex can't get one. Whether a homeowner permit suits a given generator hookup is Technical Safety BC's call (our reading). A propane or natural gas standby unit: A standby generator burning propane or natural gas converts gas into energy, so it's a gas appliance (Gas Safety Regulation s. 2), and Technical Safety BC puts installing a gas appliance or gas piping under a gas permit (its homeowner gas permits page). A homeowner may take that permit only for a detached house they live in, with no one paid to help and no part rented (s. 24 (1)), and asks for an inspection after each phase (s. 34). Propane permits are Technical Safety BC's everywhere; a few cities issue their own natural gas permits (s. 23). A gas fitter's certificate covers only limited wiring for heating equipment (s. 8), so the transfer switch stays electrical work (our reading). Where it may sit: A portable generator never runs inside the house, garage, basement, crawlspace or shed, or in a porch or other semi-enclosed space close to the house: its exhaust carries carbon monoxide. Technical Safety BC says to keep one generally at least 20 feet (about 6 m) from the house while it runs, away from windows and vents, and to follow the certified maker's instructions for the exact clearances (its power outage and cold weather pages). A standby unit's clearances come from its maker's certified instructions too. The zone and the neighbours: Councils set their own rules on where outdoor equipment may sit and how loud it may be. Coquitlam's, for example, keeps emergency generators, heat pumps and air conditioners at houses at least 1.0 m from the interior side lot line setback the zone requires (Zoning Bylaw s. 514 (4), as the City's April 2022 guide quotes it), and its guide suggests a spot close to the house, in the rear or front yard, away from walls that reflect sound and behind a fence, shed or planting. We haven't read every council's zoning and noise bylaws: ask the council where a standby unit may go and what its noise bylaw allows. Fuel: Gasoline, diesel and propane kept for a generator are fuel storage, which the BC Fire Code covers, and a diesel standby unit's tank is a tank like any other: see old heating oil tanks for how we read the Code. A propane tank in use needs Technical Safety BC's operating permit: see propane tanks. During an outage: BC Hydro's and FortisBC's outage maps show current outages; a town that runs its own utility posts its own. We link them and copy nothing. After storm damage, repairs to the house's wiring are a licensed electrical contractor's, under permit: Technical Safety BC says homeowners may not do that emergency work themselves (its power outage page). What it means for a buyer: A generator that comes with a house is only as safe as its connection (our reading): look for the transfer switch beside the panel, ask for the electrical and gas permits and the service record, and check where the unit sits against the house's windows and the neighbours. One wired in without a permit is unpermitted work.

Do I need a permit for a backup generator at a BC home?

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