Portable generator hookup vs. standby generator: which one fits your house
You may already own half the solution. An interlock for your portable costs a fraction of a standby unit — here is when each one makes sense.
Tony Taylor
OWNER · NAVY VETERAN · 30 YEARS ON THE TOOLS · AUG 28, 2026
Every hurricane season we get the same call: "How much for a whole-house generator?" Sometimes that is the right answer. Often the cheaper answer is already sitting in the garage.
Option 1: hook up the portable you already own
An inlet box outside and a breaker interlock on your panel let a portable generator power real circuits — fridge, fans, lights, the well — safely and legally, without extension cords snaking through a window.
PORTABLE GENERATOR HOOKUP
$1,200 – $2,400
Inlet box, interlock kit, dedicated circuit and permit.
A standby unit starts itself and transfers the house automatically in seconds. It makes sense if you cannot or will not go outside in a storm, if there is natural gas at the street, or if someone in the house depends on power medically.
Essential circuits (AC, fridge, well, key outlets): usually 11–14kW
Whole home with multiple AC systems: 18–24kW and up
Siting matters: clearance from windows, doors and the meter
⚠ DON’T DIY THIS
A "double-male" cord plugged into a dryer outlet backfeeds your street’s power lines. It is how linemen get hurt after storms. The interlock exists so that cannot happen.
FROM THE TRUCK
Book generator work in the boring part of the year. Lead times and permit queues both stretch the week a storm shows up on the map.
Quick answers
Is an interlock legal in Florida?+
Yes, when it is permitted and inspected. The inspection is the whole point — it confirms the generator cannot backfeed the utility.
Natural gas or propane for a standby?+
Natural gas if it is at the street, because you never refuel. Propane works where gas does not run but needs a tank and its own setbacks.
WRITTEN BY
Tony Taylor
Owner of In Phaze Electric. Navy veteran, 30 years on the tools, Florida license ER13014254. If the answer is “you don’t need us,” he’ll say so.
