10/22/2026
⛈️Storm season is here — don't wait for the lights go out.⛈️
There's a version of a storm that only costs you an evening of candles and a board game. Then there's the version where the sump pump stops, the basement floods, the freezer thaws, and the house gets cold — and the power company says "we'll get to you when we get to you."
There's more than one way to fix that, and the right one depends on your house and your budget.
Whole home generator
A standby unit sits outside, runs on natural gas or propane, and comes on automatically within seconds of an outage. Your whole house — heat, well pump, sump pump, fridge, freezer, lights, Wi-Fi — keeps running like nothing happened. You may not notice the grid went down until the neighbors mention it.
Sizing matters here more than anywhere. Too small won't carry your load, oversized is money you didn't need to spend. Every home is different, which is why we do a proper load calculation rather than quoting a number off a chart.
Standby generator inlet and interlock
This is the lower-cost route to partial-home capability.
We install a power inlet box on the outside of your house and an interlock kit on your panel. When the power goes out, you plug your portable generator into the inlet, and the interlock physically prevents your main breaker and generator breaker from being on at the same time. That's the safety piece: no backfeeding the grid, no risk to a lineman working down the street.
You get partial-home capability from a generator you may already own, at a fraction of what a full standby system costs. The trade-off is that it's manual — you're the one who wheels it out, plugs in, and starts it. Some folks are fine with that. Others want to be asleep when it happens.
One thing worth knowing before you price this out: not every utility provider allows interlock installations. Some require a different approach or a transfer switch instead, and the rules vary by provider and by your service. We check what your utility permits before we quote anything, so you're not paying for a setup that won't pass inspection.
Either way, before the next storm:
⚡ Decide what you actually need to keep running — and for how long
⚡ Get a professional to size it to your real load, not a guess
⚡ Go with a fuel source you won't have to run out and buy mid-storm ⚡ Schedule it now — storm season is when everyone calls at once
Storms don't schedule appointments. We do.
📞 Call or message Adair Electrical Services to talk through your options — whole home generator or inlet and interlock — before the next one rolls through. 📍 Residential & Commercial — Licensed Electrician
