Hello,
We had a Carrier home generator installed due to excessive power outages. In the process, the men installed an additional elec. Box and we chose the various circuits that would get power in the event of a power failure.
A friend said that we should not have two "hot" boxes. In other words, we get power from Com Edison in the newly installed box all the time and in case of a power failure and our original box takes care of Com Ed coming in to circuits that are not on generator back up power. We had a technician come from Carrier and he assured us it it safe and we are in no danger of fire, etc. Our friend insists that this is no correct .
Could you please give your professional opinion so that we feel secure and our friend stops worrying and scaring us?
Thanks so much!

Soaringhawk

You don't quite have two HOT boxes. Your original box is essentially used as a junction box for the few circuits that you want backed up.

Only those circuits will be hot in the old box when the generator is on and power is transferred to those circuits only. This is one way or wiring a transfer switch and the way you most likely have.

The new box will have live circuits all the time.

It's perfectly normal.

Does the Second Box have switches for each circuit to choose between Generator and Electric Company, and Off?

Hi,
The second box just has switches that say on and off. There is no switch that says generator and electric company. The way it was explained to us was that elec power is coming into this new box for the things we have chosen that we would need in case of a blackout. Just want to know if this is safe and heard back one answer which was yes. Thanks so much for any opinions.

I would ask the installers of the generator how to make sure that you do not put power onto the power company's line when the generator is on. Theoretically, that is what the on/off switches are for but it would serve you better to make sure.

You do not want to be responsible for electrocuting a power company employee because he thinks he is working on dead lines!

If the second Panel has a Main Breaker, the Try:
Generator InterLock Kit (http://www.interlockkit.com)
They work great, are safe, and cheapest option I know, about $150.