Generator installation and transfer switches
Two ways to keep the lights on. A permanently installed standby unit with an automatic transfer switch, or a properly interlocked inlet for the portable generator already in your garage. Both are legitimate. One costs a lot more than the other.
| Standby | Automatic transfer switch, runs on natural gas or propane |
| Portable | Generator inlet and panel interlock kit |
| Never | Backfeeding through a dryer outlet with a suicide cord |
| Permit | Required for both, pulled by us |
The portable option most people do not know about
If you already own a portable generator, a generator inlet plus a listed interlock kit on your panel gives you a safe, code compliant, permitted way to power real circuits in the house. It costs a fraction of a standby unit. It also makes it impossible to backfeed the utility line, which is the thing that gets linemen killed.
When a standby unit makes sense
Well pump, sump pump, medical equipment, a home office you cannot lose, or a house you leave empty in winter. If a three day outage is an expensive problem rather than an annoying one, automatic changeover earns its cost.
Generators across Lower Bucks
We cover Levittown, Bristol, Fairless Hills, Morrisville, Langhorne, Bensalem, Yardley, Newtown, Croydon, Tullytown.
About generators
Can I just plug my generator into a dryer outlet?
No. That is a backfeed and it can energize the utility line outside your house. It is dangerous to line crews and to you. A generator inlet with a panel interlock is the correct version of what you are trying to do, and it is not expensive.
Do standby generators need a permit in Bucks County?
Yes, electrical and usually mechanical or gas as well. We handle the electrical permit and coordinate with the gas fitter.