Would also depend largely on the size of the generator that you have or are looking to get. If the generator is small, and unable to power a lot of your appliances and other equipment, then it may make more sense to just power the essentials using good, high quality extension cords from the generator. It is critical that the extensions be a good quality, and a large gauge wire (ie. capable of high current / wattage loads) so as to minimize the line losses in powering devices.

However, if you are looking to have a permanent wiring connection to the house using the generator as a good backup, you will definitely want an electrician to do the wiring, but it makes sense to think about what you are looking for before you call an electrician.

In other words: decide what you want to have powered from the generator. Be realistic, and don't expect everything to work at the same time. Ideally, you might want to draw a table on a sheet of paper to figure out the loads you are looking to have powered. Select a group of "essential" items, a group of "important" items, and a group of "nice-to-have" items. You may want to use some kind of system to define items in the important and nice-to-have groups that can be used at alternate times: you may not need to have lights in the bedroom available at the same time as the lights in the kitchen or living room.

Your essential items are those that cannot for whatever reason live without power at any time. There are items that you may want to include in this group even if they are items that could be used during a short power outage - refrigerators are a potential item here. They, along with freezers, can usually be disconnected without ill effects if you keep them closed for the most part. However, if you are in the middle of making dinner when the power goes out, the fridge might suddenly become an absolute essential item to keep running.

Once you have your groups, figure out what kind of power requirements you have by adding up the wattage of the items that you need to run at the same time. Do yourself a favor, and add at least 10-15% to that amount to get a reasonable estimate as to the size of the generator you will need.

Ideally, you would be able to then install an isolation switch for the generator supply, and separate the power distribution feeds in the house so that you have certain circuits to the rooms where you need generator power to separated from the normal circuits through a separate breaker panel. That way, you don't have to go running around the house making sure that electrical loads are turned off prior to starting up the generator, knowing that the generator fed circuits do not have loads that will overload the generator. (This circuit would normally be powered from the regular line current; only during an outage would the isolation switch be turned over to the generator size to power that same set of circuits from the generator.)

If you cannot set up separate circuits, and you don't want to run extensions, you will still need to set up an isolation switch to be able to do a switchover between the line supply, and the generator, but you will need to make sure that you have switched off enough items in the house to prevent the generator from being overloaded.

Also, don't forget to have at least one light or other circuit connected to the utility power at all times, so that you'll know when their supply has come back on. Most switchover/isolation switches can be set up to do this on the panel or nearby, but try to make sure that you can see that indicator from an obvious place without having to go to the garage to see if the utility power has returned.

Then, you will want to consider going to as low current/wattage devices as possible. This includes replacing incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs, using energy efficient appliances, and the like.

A little thought up front will make your life easier in the long run, and having a plan beforehand will make for quicker work with the electrician - saving you a little cash too... Remember that in most cases the installation of permanently wired devices is regulated by building code, and will require an electrician. Your homeowner's policy might also require that any such work be done by a licensed electrician for their coverage to be valid...

Proper, call an electrician. What will happen is either an intelligent switch will be installed (more expensive) or a manual switch will be installed.

Here is how it works:

Intelligent switch:
Generator either starts automatically or upon you going to the generator and engaging it.
Once the generator is up to speed, the automatic switch will disengage you from the power company's circuit and will send the generated power into your home, business, school, etc.
When power has been restored and confirmed stable, and the intelligent switch now connects you back to the power grid and the generator powers down or you power it down.

Manual switch:
Almost a above except you throw the switch which takes you off of the power grid and onto your generated power.
When power is restored (either by a monitoring device or you see your neighbors now have power) you power down the generator and throw the switch to receive power from the power company.

Be sure to use a certified, licensed electrician to avoid any problems and in the event of a fire, a hassle from your insurance company.

Other way is a manual generator (gas, diesel, propane) that you start and pull extension cords into your house and plug in the most critical devices you want to power up to a total of 10 percent LESS than the generator rating. Reason for less is that as a device starts up, it pulls slightly more power than the rated wattage. Plug in devices that pull the most power first (refrigerator, freezer, TV, etc.) to the least pulling.

Unless you have really high wattage generator (like 6.5KVW for example) avoid connecting window a AC and a central air. An electrician can help you add up the total wattage you may want to maintain and add 10 percent and that will give you the wattage generator you will want to buy.

Good luck and a generator is a great idea.

The best way for this one is to call a professional. If not done properly, it can cause a back feed and hurt (or kill) the working linemen.

It costs about 150 bucks for the setup if you have a generator already.

Sorry I can't help more, but on this one it's truly best to leave it to the professionals.

Basically you will need to install a Generator Transfer Switch. There are two types: Manual and Automatic. The automatic transfer switch, will monitor the voltage from the utility, and power up the gen and automatically switch over for you during a power outage. It'll switch back to the utility when service is restored as well.

You should probably consider hiring an electrician to install the Switch. It's a variation on a sub-panel with mechanically connected, but exclusively energized mains breakers, one for the utility and one for the gen. You'll pick 8~10 essential circuits from around the house that you'll want to keep up during a power outage, and the electrician will re-route those circuits from your main breaker panel to the Transfer panel. They will also install a larger breaker (probably two pole) to feed the transfer panel. Looks like a couple hours of work.

Transfer switches can be bought on amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/GenTran-3028-8-Circuit-7500-Watt-Generators/dp/B000E673GY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1252782953&sr=1-3

The manufacturer I'd recommend is GenTran. There site has installation instructions and lots of great information and pictures!: http://www.gen-tran.com/eshop/10Expand.asp?ProductCode=3028K

Some great information was found here: http://www.smps.us/transferswitch.html

Transferring will take some time, so don't forget to use a UPS for your desktops and servers!

Cheers,
nappyd

Portable generators can pose a serious safety hazard if used improperly.

• Observe the generator manufacturer's instructions for safe operation.
• Plug individual appliances into the generator using heavy duty, outdoor rated cords with a wire gauge adequate for the appliance load.
• Never plug the generator into a wall outlet.
• If connecting to the house wiring is necessary to operate a well pump, sump pump, furnace or other hard-wired equipment, have a qualified electrician install a manual transfer switch to prevent backfeed into our lines. The switch protects our workers and the public from getting injured by your power supply, and it prevents damage to your generator, wiring and appliances when power is restored.
• To prevent carbon monoxide poisoning, never use a generator indoors. Only operate a generator outdoors in a well-ventilated, dry area, away from air intakes to the home, and protected from direct exposure to rain and snow, preferably under a canopy, open shed, or carport.

Definitely call an electrician so you don't kill yourself or someone else.

It would be helpful to have someone that knows something about wiring. I'll tell you how we did it with the help of a neighbor who is pretty handy. He made a 12 foot cord with a plug on one end that plugs into our dryer socket. The other end plugs into the generator and is a heavy duty three prong plug (not the normal grounded plug). What we do (and I live in South Florida we have used this after hurricanes) make sure the power to the house is turned off and that the circuit breakers are turned off. Then we plug the generator into the dryer socket. After starting the generator we turn on the circuit breakers for the areas we want to run. You can't run the whole house but we could use many appliances. We used ceiling fans, lights, the how water heater, TV, even the wireless router and laptop. Put pictures online of the damage.

One warning is to make sure you keep the generator as far away from the house and windows as possible. Before we had this installation method we had the generator on our porch, but probably 10 feet from the nearest window. Fortunately we had carbon monoxide / smoke detectors that went off and probably saved us.

I would agree that if you are wiring directly into your house wiring a professional is the only way to go. How big of a generator were you planning on purchasing? To power your entire house, it would take a large generator that would be fairly expensive, at least $3,500 before installation.

I didn't want to spend that much, personally, and we don't get power outages that often, so what I did was purchase a small generator, then I ran the male end of an extension cord through the wall of the basement into an outdoor weather-proof box. When necessary, I run an extension cord from that box to the generator, then run a few extension cords from a power strip in the basement to lights, etc. My main reason for getting a generator at all was that I have two pellet stoves which require electricity for the blowers and auger, so this way in an extended power failure I can still heat my home.