Service
Generators and backup power
Backup power is one decision made twice: what you want to keep running, and how it switches over. Get those right and the equipment choice mostly follows.
Deciding what stays on
This is the conversation that decides the cost, and it is worth having before anyone quotes equipment. Backing up a whole house needs far more capacity than backing up a refrigerator, a furnace, some lighting, the well pump and a couple of circuits for devices. Most people, once they see the difference in price, choose a considered list of essential circuits rather than everything. We go through the panel with you, work out the real load of each candidate, and size from that list rather than from the square footage of the house.
Transfer switches and interlocks
The transfer equipment is the part that matters for safety. An automatic transfer switch senses the outage and changes over without you doing anything. A manual interlock kit is cheaper and requires you to be there to throw it. Both are legitimate; what is not legitimate is back-feeding a panel through an outlet, which puts voltage onto the utility line and can kill somebody working on it. We install proper transfer equipment, permitted and inspected, and we will explain the trade-off between automatic and manual honestly rather than defaulting to the more expensive one.
Batteries, and hillside properties
Battery storage covers a different case from a generator: silent, no fuel, good for shorter outages and for shifting usage, but limited by capacity. Generators run as long as they are fuelled. Plenty of properties end up with both. In the hillside and canyon parts of our area, public safety power shutoffs during high-wind conditions are a routine fact rather than a rare event, which changes the maths on backup power considerably. We handle the electrical side: the transfer equipment, the backed-up subpanel and the circuits feeding it.
Common questions
Automatic transfer switch or a manual interlock?
An automatic switch changes over by itself, which matters if outages happen while you are away or if equipment cannot tolerate a gap. A manual interlock costs considerably less and works well if someone is normally home. Both are safe and compliant when installed properly. We will tell you which genuinely suits how you live rather than steering you to the bigger number.
Can I just plug a generator into an outlet?
No. Back-feeding a panel through an outlet energises the utility line outside your house and can kill a lineworker or a neighbour. It also puts unfused current through the outlet's wiring. A proper transfer switch or interlock isolates you from the grid before your generator connects, which is the entire point of the device.
Do you supply the generator or just wire it?
We handle the electrical side: the transfer equipment, the backed-up subpanel, the circuits and the permit. Tell us what unit you are considering, or what you want to keep running, and we will tell you what the electrical work involves and whether the unit suits the list.
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Tell us what your property needs
Thinking about backup power? Call (800) 280-0428 for a free estimate and a straight answer on sizing.