cfmuehling - Thanks for the nice words. I too am rebuilding after a fire - but only the kitchen was damaged. Sounds like you are rebuilding much more? I am so sorry! Anyway I didn't even need to pull permits for my fire damage, but took the opportunity to do some major work to the kitchen layout. The house is otherwise livable, so it's not as if I need a CO from the City. I will not be fined, but if the inspector doesn't give the green light he simply makes a note of it in the city's record. My contractor says that given the size of the sink and my safety reasoning, he thinks that there is a possibility that the inspector will say OK and I will pass the inspection. I am very sensitive to safety issues after having the fire. The fact is, the kitchen is upscale and attractive, the house's location is an A+ in my city, so the placement of an outlet so close to the sink, while may be the "code," is irrationally unsafe and shouldn't affect resale. I don't have a problem with a prospective buyer knowing this when I resell the house. Heck, if they need an outlet placed into the soapstone counter inches from the sink, in order to get a mortgage, or for personal reasons, I'll be happy to pay for it at that time. :) Dimmers are great, I agree!

A hard start kit will only make a small dent in the starting load for the HP. Wiring it differently may help by keeping the heat strips out of the backed-up circuits, but you may notice their absence. An HVAC consult is not likely to help you much unless you are considering a HP replacement. In that case, you will need to find a detail-oriented HVAC pro to help you choose a system (inverter-driven, perhaps) that will play best with a relatively small power source, and have better low-temperature performance so it can heat your home without the need for resistance heat back-up if you get a cold snap. (For all we know, you already have that.) In the end, you have three choices: First, dumb load shedding (simple transfer panel with auto switch) with a relatively small genset, second a big, dumb genset, third, intelligent load shedding with a relatively small genset. The first gives you no versatility powering a limited number of loads, limits fuel consumption and limits your investment in expensive genset and switching hardware. The second will have higher fuel consumption because the genset will be running at a low load a great deal of the time, and higher (genset) hardware costs. The third is more expensive from an auxiliary hardware (controls) point of view, but less into a genset. Fuel consumption will be lower. There is a question about the reliability of automatic load shedding vs. a big dumb generator or a dumb auto transfer switch, but it might be only in my mind. Read up about it. Your decision might depend on how long your outages are. If they are short, fuel is not so much of an issue. Start putting numbers together to see what works best with your needs in mind. There is a 4th alternative that might or might not make sense from a money standpoint. Maybe someone with more hardware experience can be a guide. You get a relatively small genset with an automatic transfer panel supplying your critical loads for when you are absent, heat pump, water heater and refrigerator). Have a second genset attachment to your main panel with a manual transfer switch or lock-out. When you are home, you manage your loads yourself after disconnecting the genset, and reconnecting at the main panel. That might mean turning off your heat pump when you want to do much of anything else.

Thanks for your quick response. Basically you've described the way we have been running for the past few years. So far, we haven't had problems with the load, but I'd like to make an improvement in safety and ease of use for the tennants. My question is really about that neutral wire connection. I would like to understand why I can or cannot wire it as I've described. It should fulfill all my other requirements once installed and will be able to support a larger generator in the future.

Violate MFG Warranty: only if it was the wrong kind or installed improperly causing damage to the compressor. With that said, most modern HVAC compressors do not need hard starts these days. Usually, if one is required to start a compressor it typically indicates failure of the compressor. While you can 'sometimes' install a hard start kit to save a compressor sometimes this only lasts a short while. Typically what this means is that the bearings with in the compressor are failing. (seizing up) and so the compressor doesn't have enough power to start on it's own. By adding a 'proper' hard start kit (there are many configurations, because there are different types of compressors / different sizes in tonnage --if you use the wrong kind for the wrong compressor it can damage the compressor in addition to the damage that required you to install the hard start to begin with.) The best is a 3 wire hard start kit in which your HVAC contractor chooses the proper start capacitor as well as the starting relay. As mentioned earlier there is a bunch of different kinds. A knowledgeable HVAC contractor will know which kind you need. Others will just put in a packaged 'kit' that probably won't work for very long in some cases.