An inlet on the outside wall and an interlock or transfer switch at the panel, so a portable generator runs your house circuits safely and legally.
Next Phase Electric installs generator inlets, interlock kits and manual transfer switches for portable generators in homes across South King and Pierce County. When the power goes out you wheel the generator outside, plug one cord into the inlet, slide the interlock over, and your own breakers run the heat, the fridge, the well pump and the lights. The interlock makes it physically impossible to send power back into the utility lines. Most installs take half a day and include the electrical permit.
All of them legal. One of them fits your panel.
A sliding plate on your own panel that lets either the main breaker or the generator breaker be on, never both. The least expensive legal hookup, and it can power any circuit in the panel.
A separate box beside the panel with six to ten chosen circuits, each with its own utility-or-generator switch. For panels no interlock is made for.
The weatherproof socket on the outside wall that the generator cord plugs into. 30-amp for generators up to about 7,500 watts, 50-amp above that.
For a standby generator that starts itself. It senses the outage and switches over with nobody home.
Because it is the one generator shortcut that kills people.
Power pushed into a dryer outlet runs backwards through the main breaker and out to the utility transformer, which steps it up to thousands of volts on a line the crew believes is dead.
A cord with a plug on both ends has exposed live blades on whichever end is not plugged in. Anyone who picks it up is holding 240 volts.
If the main is still on when power returns, the generator and the grid meet. The generator loses, sometimes on fire.
Three legal ways to connect a portable generator.
| How it works | Best for | |
|---|---|---|
| Interlock kit | A plate on your existing panel blocks the main breaker while the generator breaker is on. You choose which breakers to run. | Most homes. Lowest cost, and it runs anything in the panel within the size of the generator. |
| Manual transfer switch | A second small panel with a handful of chosen circuits and a switch for each. | Panels with no interlock made for them, or when you want it foolproof for whoever is home. |
| GenerLink | A collar that fits behind the electric meter and switches over by itself. | Homes where the utility approves it. It mounts on utility equipment, so we confirm with PSE or Tacoma Power before you buy one. |
A mid-size portable generator runs all of these if you take turns with the big ones.
Licensed, bonded and insured. Background-checked crew.
Tell us the wattage and plug type of the generator, and send a photo of the panel with the door open. A technician reaches out within 1 business hour.
Interlocks are made for specific panel models. We confirm one exists for yours, pick the inlet location, and give you the exact price before any work.
We run the house on your generator with the main locked out, label the breakers, and get the permit signed off.
Repairs: King and Pierce County south of I-90. Installations: greater Puget Sound.
An interlock kit with an inlet box. It uses the panel you already have, lets you run any circuit, and makes backfeeding the utility impossible. A manual transfer switch costs more and limits you to the circuits wired into it.
No. An interlock has to be made for that panel model. Most Square D, Eaton, Siemens and GE panels have one. Federal Pacific and Zinsco panels do not, and those should be replaced anyway. We check yours from a photo.
GenerLink sits behind the electric meter, which belongs to the utility, so the utility has to allow it and usually fits it. We check with PSE or Tacoma Power for your address first. Where it is not allowed, an interlock does the same job from inside the panel.
Match the biggest 240-volt outlet on the generator. A 30-amp, 4-prong twist-lock outlet means a 30-amp inlet, good for about 7,200 watts. A 50-amp outlet means a 50-amp inlet, good for about 12,000 watts.
Yes. It is new wiring at the panel and it gets inspected. Washington L&I issues the electrical permit in most of our area; Burien, Des Moines, Federal Way and Renton issue their own, and Tacoma Power covers Tacoma. We pull the permit and meet the inspector.
You can run any circuit, not all of them at once. Heat, fridge, well pump and lights are fine together on a mid-size generator. An electric range, dryer or EV charger on top of that will overload it, so those breakers stay off.
It depends on the panel, the inlet size and how far the inlet is from the panel. You get the exact price after we see the panel, before any work starts.
Book online or call. Installed, tested on your own generator and inspected.