Can I plug my portable generator into a dryer outlet to power my house?

After every big ice storm or windstorm, people look for a way to run the house on a portable generator. The shortcut many find online is a cord with plugs on both ends. It is the most dangerous electrical shortcut there is.

Why back-feeding is dangerous

• With the main breaker on, generator power flows backward through your service and onto the utility lines, where a line worker expects them to be dead.
• The exposed prongs on a double-male cord are live.
• When grid power returns, it can slam into the generator and the house wiring.
• There is no overcurrent protection matched to the generator's output.

The safe setup

1. Generator inlet. A weatherproof inlet on the outside wall where the generator cord plugs in.
2. Transfer switch or interlock. A transfer switch, or an interlock kit on the panel, makes it physically impossible to have the main breaker and the generator breaker on at the same time.
3. The circuits you choose. You run the refrigerator, furnace blower, some lights and outlets, sized to what your generator can carry.

What you need to tell us

• Your generator's rated running watts and its receptacle (for example a 30-amp or 50-amp twist-lock)
• Which circuits matter most during an outage
• Where the generator will sit outside (well away from windows and doors)

One customer wrote that Hot Shot Electric Service Co. installed a 30 amp generator outlet and breaker switch at their home, at a competitive price and with quality work. That is the whole job, done once, before the next storm. See generator transfer switch installation.

Generator safety beyond the wiring

• Run the generator outside, well away from windows, doors and vents. Never in a garage, even with the door open.
• Use a heavy enough cord, rated for outdoors and for the generator's output.
• Shut the generator off before refueling.
• Test the setup before storm season so you know which circuits it carries.

A one-time installation turns a generator from an extension-cord tangle into a switch you flip. It is also the only way to power hardwired equipment like a furnace blower or a well pump during an outage.

What the installation includes

A typical job is a weatherproof inlet on an outside wall near where the generator will sit, a cable to the panel, and a transfer switch or a listed interlock kit with a dedicated breaker for the inlet. The circuits you want to run are labeled so anyone in the house can switch over during an outage. Permits are pulled where the city requires them.