Standby Generator Installation
Standby Generator Installation
Backup Power
Transfer switches wired so the generator can never backfeed the grid, with the load prioritised around what your household actually needs running.
Backup power is a straightforward idea with one genuinely dangerous failure mode: a generator that can feed back onto the utility network. Everything else about the installation follows from preventing that properly, with a transfer switch rather than an improvised connection.
A permanently installed generator with an automatic transfer switch that senses the outage and starts the unit without anyone being home.
A less expensive route for a portable generator: a proper inlet and switch so essential circuits can be moved over safely by hand.
A sub-panel carrying the circuits that actually matter — heat, fridge, sump, a few lights and outlets — so the generator is sized to the need.
Where the existing panel cannot accommodate a transfer switch cleanly, we deal with that as part of the job rather than working around it.
Three decisions determine whether a backup system is worth having.
A generator connected to the house without a transfer switch can energise the utility conductors outside, which is a lethal hazard to line crews and to anyone nearby. A transfer switch makes it physically impossible for the two supplies to connect. This is the entire reason the installation is regulated.
Generators are usually oversized because nobody worked out what actually needs to run. A sump pump, a furnace, a fridge and some lighting is a very different requirement from air conditioning and an electric range. An essential-circuit sub-panel is usually a better investment than a bigger unit.
Permanently installed units need clearances from windows, doors and the property line, and exhaust has to discharge safely away from the building. Portable units must never run in a garage or anywhere attached to the house.
We go through the house circuit by circuit and separate the essential from the merely convenient. That list determines the size of everything else.
Automatic or manual, and where the transfer switch and any essential-circuit sub-panel will live relative to the existing panel.
Transfer switch wired and tested under a simulated outage so you have seen it work, with the ESA notification filed under our licence.
We cover Toronto and the west GTA: Toronto · York · Etobicoke · East York · Mississauga · Vaughan · Oakville. See every area on our service areas page.
Yes. Connecting a generator to a home's wiring without a transfer switch can energise the utility conductors outside the house, which is a lethal hazard to line crews. A transfer switch makes it physically impossible for the generator and the utility supply to be connected at the same time. It is not optional and it is not something to improvise.
It depends entirely on what you want running, not on the size of the house. Heat, a fridge, a sump pump and some lighting is a modest requirement. Adding air conditioning, an electric range or an electric water heater changes it substantially. We work through the circuits with you first — an essential-circuit sub-panel is often a better investment than a larger unit.
No. Feeding a house through a receptacle — sometimes called a suicide cord — backfeeds the panel through a circuit with no overcurrent protection in that direction, and can energise the utility network. It is dangerous to you and to anyone working on the lines. Use a properly installed inlet and transfer switch.
Yes. Installing a transfer switch and the associated wiring alters the permanent wiring of the home and requires notification to the Electrical Safety Authority. A licensed contractor files it under their licence and arranges the inspection.
Automatic makes sense if outages are disruptive when nobody is home, if you have a sump pump you cannot afford to lose, or if the household includes someone who could not safely switch over by hand. Manual is considerably less expensive and perfectly adequate where somebody is normally around and the priority is simply keeping essentials going.
A transfer switch often needs panel work to land cleanly.
Read more →What different jobs cost and what the ESA portion of a quote covers.
Read more →Transfer switch, backfeed, sub-panel and the rest, in plain English.
Read more →Related services: Panel Upgrades · Emergency Electrician · Residential Electrical.
We will work out what actually needs to stay on before anyone sizes a generator.