Transfer switches

Automatic and manual transfer switches, generator inlets and panel interlocks in Edmonton, installed to code to prevent dangerous backfeed.

What a transfer switch does

A transfer switch connects your building to one power source at a time: the utility or the generator, never both. That keeps generator power from flowing back onto the utility lines, where it can electrocute line workers, and protects your generator from being hit with grid power when service returns.

The Canadian Electrical Code requires transfer equipment for any generator connected to a building's wiring. It is not optional, and a double-ended cord plugged into a receptacle is never an acceptable shortcut.

Transfer equipment also protects the people in your building. It makes switching sources a deliberate, controlled action instead of a tangle of extension cords running through windows and doors.

Choosing the type

For a home with a portable generator, a listed interlock kit on the main panel with an exterior inlet box is often the simplest choice. It lets you power any circuit, as long as you manage the load. A manual transfer switch with selected circuits is another option and makes overloading less likely.

Standby generators use an automatic transfer switch (ATS). It watches the utility supply, starts the generator after an outage, transfers the load, and switches back once the utility has been stable for a set time. Service-entrance rated models can also serve as your main disconnect, which can simplify a whole-home installation.

We will help you think through which circuits to include. For most homes, that list includes the furnace, sump pump, fridge and freezer, some lights and receptacles, the internet equipment and perhaps a well pump.

Commercial and industrial transfer

Larger buildings use transfer switches rated for higher currents and for the available fault current at the service. Options include open and closed transition transfer, bypass-isolation switches that allow maintenance without an outage, and multiple switches separating life safety, legally required and optional loads where codes call for that separation.

We work from engineered drawings where they exist, and coordinate settings, time delays and testing with your generator supplier. Annual testing of transfer equipment is part of our generator maintenance service.

Settings deserve as much care as the hardware. Time delays for start, transfer and retransfer, and exercise schedules, are set to suit your equipment and recorded so they can be checked during maintenance.

Using it safely

A transfer switch is only safe if it is used as intended. For manual systems, we leave clear operating instructions at the panel and walk you through the sequence: start the generator outside, connect it to the inlet, then switch over. When power returns, reverse it.

What drives cost

We do not post prices. Costs depend on the switch type and amperage, whether it is service-entrance rated, the number of circuits moved to a transfer panel, the distance to the generator or inlet, and any panel changes needed. Interlock kits depend on your panel having a compatible listed kit; older panels may need replacement.

If you plan to buy a portable generator, talk to us before you choose one. The generator's output and receptacle type decide which inlet and transfer method suit it, and matching them avoids buying adapters later.

Questions we hear