how do I wire a generator to my house?

Chances are you cannot do this yourself and if you could you would have to get permit as a home owner(some localities allow this) and it will get inspected by the county and or utility company or both.

This is not a bad price really, because this has to be hooked up under the meter of the home with a transfer switch that clicks automatically or a three pole two throw switch.

It has to be separate on all three wires form the utility side under all circumstances so there is no chance of feedback to the utility lines.

I would get more estimates form different contractors if you feel this is to high, but honestly this is not a bad price.

I have been an electrician and a contractor for years and I have installed quite a few generators on homes and industrial jobs as well.

But in residential for a 200 amp service this is quite inexpensive.

I have a 200 amp service in my home and a backup generator only 13.5 KW ran off propane with a transfer switch and I did the work it cost me 2750 bucks and I did the work. If I had to charge for this it would have been 3500 or so

A lot depends on where you live I guess and the size of the generator you want and want to run.

I have came back and seen some of these other answers and you cannot run two outlets from each leg of your home and back feed at all. You also have a neutral wire that feeds back to the utitity line and that too cannot be back fed to the utility side of the generator. It must be totally seperate from the home and the utility. This is why I said it takes a three pole two throw switch. This means that the two hots and neutral are seperate form each other. Three poles and two throw means they cannot interconnect. I really suggest you get a licensed electrician for this before you get a lawsuit form the utility company or worse yet do it ilegal and see what happens. They can put you in jail if some one gets hurt on the utility side if not done properly.

I have been reading the other answers and in my opinion there is a way that you could safely wire an emergency generator to your house and this is to have a safety switch on the generator circuit where it comes into the house.Before you close the switch to provide electricity to the house you must pull the master hydro switch at the breaker panel. you wire the generator to the house side of the breaker box so that the house is wired to the generator switch even when the main breaker is off.then you close the switch that is in the generator circuit allowing the current from the gen.to flow through the house circuits without flowing out of the house because the main breaker is off not allowing the juice to go into the public grid.When the power grid comes back on you will have to open the generator switch and shut it off then close the main breaker to get power from the grid back into the house.Make sure that you open the gen switch to prevent power from the grid going into the generator.

Depending on the work he was contracting to do that may not be a bad price. There are two main pieces, the switch and the generator hookup..

For the switch, it will need to be installed before the breaker box. This way you can decide which is going to power the breaker box, the generator or standard electrical line.

For the generator, you need to make a connection from the generator to the switch.

The switch can be done manually or via an automatic mechanism.

There was a very good episode of This Old House where they did this kind of set up, check their site.

There is no need for any breaker work in the box and this in not really something for DIY project.

It's not a typical do it yourself project, but neither is it brain surgery.

My system was installed for about $1100 total including the generator.

The transfer panel is required as a foolproof way to prevent backfeeding the main grid. Instructions for backfeeding through a dryer or stove outlet always have points which could easily connect the generator across the live lines if someone doesn't know exactly what they are doing. This could be catastrophic. If you're lucky only the generator will be damaged. It could cause a fire or cost someone performing repairs their life. Don't use a double male cord to backfeed!

Read through my generator page for safety and installation ideas.

http://members.rennlist.org/warren/generator.html

the interior wiring could meet each and all the codes the different living house desires to fulfill -- be certain all aspects are qualified to national electric standards-- for cover--- the generator might have output terminals which you carry the main cables from the main breaker on your circuit breaker panel to the generator unit- i'm hoping the gen set can provide a non-end amperage of 30 Amps and is ruled to offer extra on call for-- solid luck--

No ! stay with me on this one. The Emergency Generator needs to be wired in properly for several reasons this is no time for amateur night. There needs to be a power transfer switch be it manual or automatic. The $1400.00 will be the cheapest money you’ll spend and the biggest bang for the buck. At no time can you have emergency power contact commercial power it produces a big boom and you’re out of emergency & commercial power. The transfer switch removes commercial power from your fuse box then connects emergency power to your fuse box. This has to be done because otherwise you cannot get it phased properly and you won’t believe how big of an bang you get when you try to connect the two ( commercial power & emergency power at the same time. Next if you should get connected while there isn’t any commercial you’ll be sending current down the commercial line and the workers working on the problem can be harmed of killed from your power going down line.

I am going to tell you what PROs won't tell you. The simplest way to back feed your whole house is by identifying two 120/125 AC outlets one from your right bank of your electric service box panel and one from your left side For a better result using an AC tester meter. However the best solution is to install two new ones on the exterior of the house using the same format "one on the right bank and one on the left. You will now identify the two outlets from your generator the same way, one 120/125 AC outlet from the right bank and one from the left. You will have to custom make two heavy duty extensions using male connectors on both ends. Make sure to make these extensions as shorter as possible to avoid heat and hazard generated by overload. Make sure you use 12 Gage wire or higher. To feed from the generator on a real emergency or to run a test, NOTE: YOU MUST TURN YOUR SERVICE BOX MAIN BRAKER OFF" Or you will fry the line man like the SUPER DUPERS PRO said on one of previous answers. This one should be the large one on top of your regular breakers and is labeled with a highest AMP, for example 100, 160 AMPS. Now connect your custom extensions from the generator to the outlets using the right format described on the previous intructions. NOTE: Your generator must be outside of the house.If you use your garage, you must open the garage door or a window to vent the carbon monoxide from the generator engine.Turn your AC generator on and your house should be now on the generator power. IMPORTANT. You should be sure to follow every step right. To go back to utility power. YOU MUST TURN YOUR GENERATOR OFF, REMOVE YOUR EXTENSIONS WITHOUT TOUCHING THE METAL TIPS. Turn on your main 100/160 amps breaker on, now you back on normal service. Remember, you should have as least basic electrical skill before you do this...! If you are not sure of what you doing, I will recomend to have somebody of your friends with the right skills to help...!

no i wouldnt do it first you will have to have your meter pulled and anytime that happens the electric company will want a permit or inspection of your electrical system and if you do something wrong the electrical inspecter will fail your system and you could be without power for days best to let a liscened electrition do this one

This is really a job for a pro.

Do it wrong, and you could wind up killing a lineman during a blackout. That's a manslaughter charge.