A transfer switch is the device that moves your home from utility power onto generator power, and it is the part most often blamed on the generator when a backup system fails to carry the house. We install automatic transfer switches for standby generators and manual interlock kits for portable generator hookups.
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When the power goes out and the generator runs but the house stays dark, the transfer switch is usually the reason. From inside the building that looks identical to a generator that failed.
It is also the part that makes a portable generator safe. Running one through extension leads means picking which single appliance to power, and back-feeding a dryer outlet risks sending power back down the utility line toward the crews working on it. An interlock kit makes the connection properly and legally.
An automatic transfer switch is installed alongside a standby generator. It senses the outage, starts the generator and moves the house over within seconds, with nobody home needing to do anything.
Switches over on its own, within seconds of an outage
A manual interlock kit is the portable generator equivalent. You start the generator, plug it into an inlet box, and throw the interlock at the panel, which powers selected circuits and makes it physically impossible to back-feed the grid.
You start the generator and throw the interlock, powering selected circuits safely
Most electricians do not install generators. Most generator dealers do not hold an electrical contractor license. We do both, which means the generator sizing, the switch, the panel connection, the permit and the commissioning are one scope with one team.
What the switch connects to is not the same across the metroplex. Older established neighborhoods in Fort Worth and Dallas still carry 100A and fuse-box era service, so the panel is often the first thing to deal with, while newer builds in Frisco, Prosper and Celina are 200A from new. Where a panel does have to come out, Oncor disconnects the meter before the work starts, and permit turnaround varies by jurisdiction.
When the power actually goes out, there is nobody to point at.
Yes, in most DFW municipalities, and we pull it and handle the inspection as part of the job.
Yes, whoever supplied it.
It follows the generator and the circuits you want covered. We size it at the assessment rather than by rule of thumb.
For a portable generator it is the correct and safe way to connect. It is not automatic: you start the generator and throw the interlock yourself, which means being home to do it.
It depends on the switch, the number of circuits and the panel it connects to. We quote after seeing the panel.
In Texas this is electrical work on your service equipment, it needs a permit and an inspection in most DFW municipalities, and getting it wrong can back-feed the utility line that crews are working on. There are plenty of videos showing the install. There are not many showing the inspection.
Yes, when it is a listed kit for your panel, properly installed and inspected. What is not legal, or safe, is a double-male cord into a dryer outlet, which is the method the interlock exists to replace.
We install automatic transfer switches for standby generators and manual interlock kits for portable generator hookups.
TECL #41809 · Serving Fort Worth, Tarrant County and greater DFW