GENERATOR CONNECTION: Watch the Simplest Safe Method in Action

Posted on January 29th, 2022

Last week we woke up to a power failure on Sunday morning, and when I connected my generator to the house, it got me thinking that you might like to know how I did it. A small device called a Generlink is how. As generator prices fall and confidence in electrical utilities declines, you may be wondering how you could safely and legally connect a portable generator to your home. One of the simplest options is the Generlink. I have one at my place, so I know how it works. The Generlink fits onto a standard utility meter base, below the meter, and it includes a port for connecting a cable from a generator to your household electrical system. Below you can see one that a neighbour of mine has.

The Generlink is the grey cylindrical thing that sits between the meter and the rectangular meter base. One end of a special cable plugs into the bottom of the Generlink, and the other into a generator. The Generlink automatically disconnects your house from the grid if power is fed into the system by a generator.

The Generlink delivers generator power to your home while the grid is down. I’ve found a few people who’ve had trouble with Generlink units failing to switch back to grid power when it came back on, but failure rates have been less the 0.02 % in my research. Generlink is a US-made product, but it’s available across North America. Not all jurisdictions allow Generlinks to be installed, so check with your power company before you invest any time in finding a supplier. Prices varying from $1000 to $1600, depending on size, features and cable length, so Generlink isn’t cheap. The big benefit is simplicity of installation and use. It’s one of three different options for making a legal generator connection to your home. Click here to learn about three safe and legal generator connect methods with my most popular video. This one has over 2,300,000 views, and also includes how to choose a generator for your home.

Here’s another video. Click here to watch the Generlink in action at my place. This is another popular one with more than 800,000 having watched this video since I put it up in March 2017. I think you’ll like it.

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