*NOT Sponsored* DIY - Install A Transfer Switch for Home Backup Power!! MUCH easier than you think! 

Any suggestions on solar switches? I too have solar and I want a transfer switch that can accommodate both solar and b/u generator.

Excellent advice! This particular kind of work in my county does not require a permit apparently, but I'm sure in many place it definitely does.

In my town, only licensed electricians can pull electrical permits. And it is insanely expensive to hire electricians in MA. Such a scheme.

Some houses have such old, outdated equipment, that anytime you get power company or local inspectors involved, they will likely REQUIRE you to perform upgrades BEYOND THE SCOPE of what you had planned.

@@suvari225- too much government involvement in MA resulting in high costs

​@@ReeWrayOutdoors a true free county.

The whole transfer switch box is rated for 30 A total. How are you going to hook up an AC unit even with a soft start? Just the AC unit alone will essentially take up the full capacity of this transfer switch? Or at least 2/3 of it when running.

I connect an outside gas generator and a battery power station to the same Reliance transfer switch. I simply plug in the transfer switch male twist lock socket to the power source needed. It is a manual switch of non-utility power sources without the need for a second transfer switch box. The reason for this setup is that the highest power is needed during the day thus making the gas generator noise and monitoring acceptable. Then during the night, the solar power station suffice for the reduced power needs, and above all, no noise and no gas tank filling in the dark. I use the same manual transfer switch demonstrated in this video. The gas generator provides 240 V - 30 A power to the transfer switch. The wiring makes 240 volts available on parallel switches D-I and E-J if 240 V is required. I use the E-J combo to power a heat pump for heating or air conditioning. Then the remaining switches are supplied with 120 V generated power but in separate phases for the left A-B-C-D and right F-G-H-I. The gas generator needs the power usage to be balanced between the left and right side of the transfer switch. The solar or battery power station supplies power only in 120 V - 20 A max like 2000 - 2200 W. Thus, if the power station supplies 120 V in only one phase, the wattage load does not need to be balanced between the left A-B-C-D and right F-G-H-I. One has to make sure the total loads operating at once do not go over the power station inverter allowed wattage (in my case 2200 W). I just do not have 240 V to power the heat pump or any other 240 V load. To use the transfer switch both left and right sides at 120 volts, I use a "Y" cable bought on Amazon named "ONETAK NEMA 2 Port 5-15P 3 Prong Plug Male Household to L14-30R 4 Prong Female Receptacle Twist Lock Y Combiner STW 3 Feet 120V/240V 30 Amp Generator Welder Dryer Power Cord Adapter". I just unplug the gas generator from the transfer switch socket and plug in the "Y cable" twist lock instead. At the other end of the "Y cable", both 120 V regular male plugs connect to 2 separate female sockets on the power station. One socket supplies the left side of the transfer switch (A-B-C-D), the other feeds the right side (F-G-H-I). I put the critical 120 V loads on the left side of the transfer : refrigerator, freezer, modem-router for the Internet, and some lighting. These loads are supplied by the UPS socket on the power station The right side of the transfer switch supplies non critical wall outlets to power "one at a time" of microwave oven, counter top oven, kettle, toaster, coffee maker, 120 V - 1500 W max space heater, TV, computer and multi screen system or else. The gas generator is a 7500 W pure sine wave with a 9000 W max temporary loading. The solar power station is a combination Pecron E1500 LFP (for UPS support) 2200 W, 120 V pure sine wave, recharged on its 32-95 V DC input by a Pecron E2000 LFP thru the external Pecron "brick" charger. The E2000 LFP two 32-95 V DC inputs recharge on 2400 W installed standard solar panels and connected to 2x3072 W Pecron EB-3000 batteries plus one separate 48 V - 5 K LFP battery. In total, the solar-power bank set up can provide about 13000 Watts. Manual switching the "off grid" power sources from gas to battery bank at will. Not complicated, just manual and just when needed. Automatic is possible but would cost a whole lot more.

The 240V circuits are always going to have 2 hot leads (regardless of color)...each connected to a separate 120V leg of the panel. So really, you don't treat them any differently than the single 120V circuits as far as wiring to the Xfer Switch. You just make sure that the 2 red and black wires you uses correspond to the 2 letters associated with your 240V switch pair on the Xfr Switch. If you stop the video @13:05 you can see that in my case, that is E and J. And both breakers for the 240V water heater connection now have red wires going into them (labelled E & J) and the original black and white wires that were there are now wired-nutted to the corresponding black E and J wires from the Xfer Switch.

Yeah, I originally installed the 6 circuit switch too because that's what I had at my previous house...but once I got the 10 circuit switch with the Bluetti Home Integration Kit, I pulled the 6 circuit switch out and bought the 10 circuit switch so now I have 2 of them (one on each panel).

You're 100% right about that! I had made the assumption when I bought this MTS that being a 30A version it would have at least 1 240v pair with 30A breakers...but you're right, the bottom 4 are all 20A...and that IS a concern. I'll be swapping it out for a different version...probably the A310A that does have 30A breakers.

None of them come with 30A breakers. You have to buy it yourself and install it in positions A and B only. The wire gauge in A and B position are 10-gauge wire. All the other positions use 12-gauge wire.

Yeah, fair point! It's always a balancing act to try and include as much information as I can, without making every video 45+ mins long! But basically, the transfer switch is taking the hot wire from each main service panel circuit that you select, and connecting it to a physical switch that is EITHER connected to grid (LINE) power, OR generator (GEN) power. And while you can have SOME circuits on LINE and some on GEN at any given time, any individual circuit cannot be on both at the SAME time (ie back feeding to the grid, which is an obvious 'no-no').

Nope. These Manual Transfer Switches are specifically designed to so they cannot to that.

The primary reason you'd not want to do that is that I believe it's an NEC code violation because if you forget to manually turn off the main breaker, and then add generator power through the transfer switch, you'll be backfeeding to the grid, which is a huge 'no-no' without an interlock switch and an approval from the local Utility.

Nothing. You can manually switch some or all of your circuits back to grid whenever you want.

Yes that's correct. You wire it the same as the other circuits...just making sure you're using the 2 switch wires from the double switch on the manual xfer box. Easy-peasy

Typically the Furnace itself (the inside unit with the blower) is on a single 120V 15A or 20A circuit. If you have Central A/C, that's usually on a separate dual circuit breaker of at least 30A. So if you're just needing to plan for backup power for heat, you'd only need to include that 120V circuit for the Furnace and not the Central AC breaker (which would significantly increase the costs to connect a power station setup that could handle 240V 30A-50A loads).

@@ReeWrayOutdoors thanks a lot

You raise a good question. I honestly do not know with 100% certainty...and I suspect it might depend on the insurance company and the local requirements where you happen to live. I suspect if a permit is required, and you don't get one...and then have a major problem...the insurance company is going to take that as an opportunity to deny a claim. But if you DID get a permit and it passed inspection, I don't see how they'd be able to deny a claim and prevail in court if you sued as a result. Following the local rules is key, for sure.

@@ReeWrayOutdoors Completely agree with you. My research in the interim led me to the same conclusion - check with your local zoning or coding authority and absolutely for sure call your homeowner insurance company.

I have some lights on the backup circuit but not others. And another option would be to just add a 240V inlet connector direct to the panel and wired through an interlock switch (so both the inlet and grid cannot be on at the same time.) This effectively puts the entire panel on backup power which might be more convenient for you. Personally I like having the manual control to have some circuits on grid with others on generator/battery/solar.

Yeah that's a great point. 👍 I was surprised to learn that I didn't even require a permit for this in my area.

That is correct. If the switch is set to Line (aka grid), the switch box breaker does nothing.

And I like to add, that when the switch is in the off position, it cuts the power to that circuit in both the transfer switch and main panel.

@Walt-c9m the lockout isn't necessary with this type of transfer switch since each individual circuit is either connected to grid or generator but cannot be connected to both at the same time so backfeeding the grid is not possible.

@@ReeWrayOutdoors thank you after looking closer i did see the individual switches

No need. When you switch a circuit to generator, it cannot get power from the grid or vice-versa. Backfeeding is not possible by design.

The Pecron definitely would work with a manual transfer switch for 120V loads. You'd just need to get an adapter cable to adapt from the standard 3-prong 120V outlets to the inlet box on the transfer switch. And just keep in mind that you'll be limited to about 20A total output using the configuration.

@@ReeWrayOutdoors Thanks! Merry XMAS

Online named " NEMA 2 Port 5-15P 3 Prong Plug Male Household to L14-30R 4 Prong Female Receptacle Twist Lock Y Combiner STW 3 Feet 120V/240V 30 Amp Generator Welder Dryer Power Cord Adapter". @@Jetter638

Thank you this answered my questions above!

Hmmmm...the hall sensors should have a hot wire (red or black) going through the ring. I will say it's easy for them to slip off when you trying to wire the L14-30P inlet. I'd double check to make sure the red and black leads coming off the inlet are still going through the sensors... if they are and you're still not getting an indication on the front panel meters when you definitely have a load running there's probably a wiring issue between the sensors and the meters. Just my best guess....

The switches on the Transfer Switch WON'T ALLOW IT. They switch BETWEEN grid power and whatever alternate power source you have wired into the transfer switch input leads.

The 30A output connector on the E1500LFP is a DC output, so no, you would not connect it to a transfer switch like this. You COULD connect the 120V outputs to the transfer switch though, but you'd be limited to 20A.

Actually it would be pretty easy to remove. Now that I know how easy they are to install, I kind of regret not taking the one from my previous house out and bringing it with me. But then, it was only 6 circuits and I really do like having the 10 circuit switch.

I have, yes. I've posted the randomly drawn comments on my community page and have notified the winners with a reply to their comment. 2 or 3 of the winners have yet to respond so you may have another chance since I'll be redrawing in the new few days if they fail to respond!

Do you need to be a licensed electrician to do this kind of project where you live? And if so, where is that, may I ask? I did consult with a licensed electrician before proceeding and I was assured that not only did it not require licensed electrician in my country, but also did not require a permit (though it's still recommended to have it inspected).

Bogus info. Depends on your codes. In AZ homeowners can do any work themselves, with the local permit and inspection.