CAA Habitation recommendedGenerator · Master electricians
Commercial and industrial generator installation
Walk-in cooler, alarm system, workstations: our master electricians connect the generator of a business or a plant to keep running what must not stop.
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In short
A generator for your business
Our master electricians (RBQ licence 5815-0137-01, CMEQ members) hook up generators in homes and businesses alike. For a shop, an office, a warehouse or a plant, we assess the circuits to back up, do the wiring, declare the work, handle the municipal permit when one is needed, then run a full switchover test.
What an outage costs, and what we back up
When the power fails, a business loses stock and has to close. The starting point is therefore the list of equipment to keep running, such as the walk-in cooler, the alarm or the workstations. Then we look at the panel that feeds it, and propose backup power sized only for those loads.
The switch has a capacity in amps, which sets how many circuits are backed up: the longer the list, the bigger the switch, and the generator along with it.
Manual or automatic transfer switch
- Portable generator: it plugs into an outdoor inlet, and a manual switch does the changeover. This setup suits a site where someone is there to start the unit.
- Standby generator: as soon as the grid drops, the automatic switch starts it and hands it the backed-up circuits within seconds; when Hydro-Québec comes back, it returns the load to the grid.
- An automatic switch is justified as soon as you need to stay protected while you’re away.
A portable generator goes outdoors, at least 6 metres from buildings, with the exhaust pointing away from doors and windows; never run it in a garage or a shed. And a working carbon monoxide detector.
The details: the transfer switch, the heart of the job.
Never into an outlet
A generator plugged into a building outlet pushes its power all the way to Hydro-Québec’s lines, where a line worker who thinks the line is cut can get a shock. The transfer switch guarantees that the installation is never supplied by two sources at the same time.
This hookup is master electrician work: the electrician files the declaration with the RBQ, and some cities also ask for a permit.
Who does what on the job
- Natural gas or propane is connected by a licensed gas contractor; on our side, we coordinate and do all the electrical work.
- The generator’s pad or pedestal is handled by a general contractor or the supplier.
- For generators, the brand we install most often is Generac.
Laval, Montréal, the North Shore and the South Shore
We connect generators from Laval to the Laurentians and from Montréal to the South Shore. For a business: commercial electrician in Laval, commercial electrician in Montréal. For a home: home generator installation. All our services for businesses: commercial and industrial electrician.
Commercial generator: your questions
Do we need to back up the whole building?
No. The equipment that cannot stop comes first, and the generator is sized to match it.
Manual or automatic transfer switch: which one?
Manual when someone is on site to start the generator; automatic as soon as you need to stay protected while you’re away.
Is a permit needed?
The master electrician files the declaration of work with the RBQ; a city permit depends on the municipality.
Who connects the gas?
A licensed gas contractor. We coordinate and do the electrical part.
How does the installation end?
We cut the grid to check that everything switches over as planned: the outage is simulated before we leave.
Get a quote: commercial or industrial generator
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Generator
Keep your business running?
A free written quote, usually within 7 days.