Section 1.0 — Overview · Automatic Transfer Switch Installation
The piece that turns a generator into backup power.
When the grid drops, the automatic transfer switch detects the loss, isolates your home, and starts the generator — in seconds, without anyone touching it. Generac and Kohler authorized. Permits handled.
A generator wired to the grid during an outage pushes electricity back into the utility lines, where it can seriously injure or kill the crew repairing them. A transfer switch physically cannot connect both sources at once — which is why it's required, not optional, on any permitted generator.
A generator with no switch isn't connected to anything
Without a transfer switch, a backup generator is just a machine running in the driveway. The switch is the part that actually routes its power into your home's circuits when the utility fails.
Manual switching means someone has to be home
A manual switch makes you go outside, start the generator, and flip it by hand — no help during a nighttime outage or a PSPS event while you're away. An automatic switch operates on its own, typically within 10 to 30 seconds.
Section 3.0 — The solution
Our approach, in one paragraph.
An automatic transfer switch is the electrical component installed between your utility service and your generator. Its job is simple and critical: when utility power fails, switch your home's circuits to generator power; when it returns, switch back — and never let the generator connect to the grid at the same time. We're authorized installers for Generac and Kohler, so we specify and install their transfer switch lines, not just their generators, and match the switch correctly to the generator's output and your home's service size. Whether it's part of a complete new system or a retrofit onto an existing generator, every installation uses UL listed components and meets California electrical code.
Section 4.0 — Configurations · 2 options
Configurations for your home.
Selected-circuits
Load center · installed, permitted, inspected
Designate the circuits that matter most — the refrigerator, the HVAC, a few outlets, a medical device — to run on generator power during an outage. Works with a smaller generator and a wide range of portable units, at lower installation cost. You give up whole-home continuity but protect what matters most.
Switches your entire electrical service to generator power, so everything in the house runs as normal during an outage. Requires a generator sized to handle your full home load.
A licensed electrician evaluates your generator's output capacity, your main panel, and your household priorities, then tells you what's feasible — whole-home or selected-circuits, new system or retrofit. We'll be honest about what your existing equipment can and can't support.
2
Specify the correct switch
We match the transfer switch to the generator's output and your home's service size — a Generac generator typically pairs with a Generac ATS, Kohler with Kohler. We specify the right configuration during the system design phase.
3
Permit & utility coordination
Transfer switch installation requires an electrical permit in California. We pull the permit and handle the application — permitting adds roughly five to ten business days before installation begins.
4
Install, test, inspect
For a new system, the switch goes in alongside the generator and gas connection in a coordinated sequence under a single permit. For a retrofit, we install the switch at your main panel and commission the complete system. Most standalone retrofits are completed in one day.
5
Ongoing protection
We commission the finished system, host the city inspector, and stay your electricians for the life of the installation. Our authorization for Generac and Kohler also means the switch is registered correctly for warranty.
Section 6.0 — Questions · 5 entries
Questions worth answering.
Yes, in most cases. We evaluate your generator's output capacity and the transfer switch options compatible with it. Not every portable generator can be integrated into a whole-home automatic system, but selected-circuits transfer switches work with a wide range of portable units. We'll tell you what's feasible at the assessment.
A manual transfer switch requires you to physically operate it during an outage — go outside, start the generator, go back inside, flip the switch. An automatic transfer switch detects the outage and operates on its own, typically within 10–30 seconds, without any action from you. During a nighttime outage or a PSPS event that happens while you're away, the automatic switch means you may not even know the grid went down.
Transfer switches — whether automatic or manual — are required by California electrical code for any permanently connected generator system. A manual switch is technically compliant, but an automatic switch is required to meet the standard for "automatic" standby systems. We specify the appropriate configuration for your setup.
As a standalone retrofit, most automatic transfer switch installations are completed in one day. As part of a new complete generator system, the transfer switch is installed in the same visit as the rest of the system. Permitting adds five to ten business days before installation begins; we handle the application.
Not always. We evaluate your panel during the assessment. Most panels can accommodate a transfer switch without an upgrade. If your panel is older or at capacity, we'll walk you through the options — and often a panel upgrade and transfer switch installation make sense to schedule together, especially if you're also adding a new standby generator.