Can I run an air raid siren from household power?
You can run single-phase 120V series-motor sirens and 208-240V series or repulsion-induction sirens from the power that comes into your home. Anything up to about 7.5 HP will run well provided you run the appropriate heavy-gauge wire to them directly from your main panel. Sirens larger than a 208-240V Model 2 will require a motor starter relay of the appropriate size. You cannot run 3-phase sirens from home power without some expensive and heavy conversion hardware. With appropriate conversion, 10HP is about the upper limit for 200A home service. Large capacitor-start sirens are also a difficult load to run from home power, due to the large inrush current requirements. 6. Is it legal to run an air raid siren at home? Short answer: no. Long answer: It depends a lot on where you live as to what you can get away with. In most states you will at least be violating a noise ordinance, unless you have a large enough plot that your siren is down to 70dB by the time it reaches the edge of your
