Patent ID: 8415830

Claim:
A method for managing a plurality of electric loads powered by a standby generator, the method comprising the steps of: interconnecting each of the plurality of electric loads to the generator through an interconnect device that is operable to selectively connect and disconnect the electric load from the generator; assigning a priority value to each of the electric loads from a lowest priority value to a highest priority value; providing a control unit in communication with each of the interconnect devices to control the connection of each of the electric loads to the generator; monitoring a combined load on the generator in the control unit; selectively disconnecting the electric loads from the generator in a sequential order based on the priority value assigned to each load, wherein the loads having the lowest priority value are sequentially disconnected from the generator by the control unit until the combined load on the generator falls below a rated value for the generator; predicting the additional load on the generator for each of the electric loads disconnected from the generator; and selectively reconnecting one or more of the electric loads having priority values lower than the electric load having the highest priority value that is disconnected from the generator when the combination of the predicted additional load and the combined load remains below the rated value of the generator.