Transfer Switches

It is essential to be sure a generator is installed safely. A transfer switch safely and efficiently transfers power from a utility to a generator and back again.

We offer dedicated circuit or whole-house automatic transfer switches. Manual transfer switches make a portable generator more convenient.

Common Question: What’s the difference between whole house and a load center?

Whole house is essentially a mirror of your electrical panel so if we were to do a whole house transfer for a generator everything in your home will be energized during a power outage when you’re on generator power. If we do a dedicated load center, you would pick certain emergency circuits or necessary circuits to have energized by the generator during a power outage. Those circuits would be your heating system, your well pump or sewer pump if you have one, typically a kitchen circuit with the refrigerator. If you have a freezer in your basement, we’d want to protect that circuit as well.

If you’re doing a whole house transfer, the one thing you have to be aware of is that just because everything can be turned on doesn’t mean you can run everything at the same time as though you were on line power. You have to police your own power consumption. Act as your own load shed device so to speak. You’re not going to roast a turkey, dry a load of laundry, and have the air conditioning going on your generator because it just will not be able to provide enough power to do that. We recommend for somebody who doesn’t want to have to do their own load shedding to do a load center transfer. If you feel confident that you won’t overload the generator, whole house transfer is convenient and less expensive.