When the grid drops
Standby Power
Manual interlock systems, automatic transfer systems and generator or battery hookups. Starting at $750.
Chapter 01
Manual interlock or automatic transfer, and what each one does
Thunder Electric’s standby power work comes in two main shapes: manual interlock systems and automatic transfer systems. Both exist to solve the same problem. A generator cannot just be plugged into a house through a regular outlet or an improvised cord, because power can flow backward onto the utility lines and into the neighborhood. Something has to guarantee that the house is fed from one source at a time.
A manual interlock does that with a mechanical plate on the panel. It lets the main breaker or the generator breaker be on, never both at once. When the power drops, you start the generator, switch the main off, and bring the generator breaker on. You are the transfer switch. It is the simpler of the two, and it works for people who are home and willing to do those steps when the outage hits.
An automatic transfer system takes you out of the loop. It senses that utility power is gone, moves the house onto the generator by itself, and moves it back once utility power returns. It suits a house where nobody may be home during an outage, or where the people home would rather not go out in the dark to start anything. Which one fits depends on how you live, and the office can talk it through with you.
A standby generator on a concrete pad beside a house, conduit running to a transfer box on the wall
Generator and battery hookup, and which circuits it carries
The hookup is the electrical connection between whatever makes the backup power and your house: the conduit and wire from the unit to the interlock or transfer equipment, and the connection into your panel. It is the part that has to be done right, and the part that should not be a weekend project. Thunder lists generator and battery hookup as its own item, and the residential side also lists generator installations.
A battery system is wired in on the same principle as a generator. It needs a path into the house’s electrical system that can never be live from two sources at once. Where the unit sits, and how far it is from the panel, changes how much conduit and wire the job needs, which is one reason the price starts at a figure instead of ending at one.
A generator or a battery has a limit, so part of any hookup conversation is deciding which circuits the backup will actually carry. Most people start with the furnace, the refrigerator and a few lights, then decide what else matters to them. Ask the electrician what the unit you own, or are thinking about buying, can run before the outage forces the question.
Chapter 03
Standby power starts at $750
Thunder Electric publishes its standby power work as starting at $750, and that figure is where the conversation begins, not the whole bill. The final number depends on which system you choose, what is being connected, and what the job looks like on site. Ask the office whether your job qualifies for a free estimate, since estimates are free for qualifying scope and upon request.
When a job is estimated, Thunder asks for at least a 50% deposit of the total, paid by the date the work is scheduled. Invoices come by mail and email, usually within 1-2 weeks of the work, with no charging on site. Financing through Wisetack is available for anything over $500, up to $25,000, with terms from 3 to 60 months and an APR from 0% to 35.9%, all subject to credit approval.
If the lights are out right now, you are not planning, you are in an emergency. The 24/7 emergency line at (509) 575-8362 reaches the on-call tech. The office itself keeps Monday through Friday hours, 8 to 5. Stan Buechler had an electrical problem on a Sunday and wrote: “I had a problem on a Sunday. Thunder Electric was at my house in two and a half hours.” That was not a generator job, but it is how the weekend line works.
Thunder Electric, Inc. is licensed, bonded and insured: WA L&I Electrical Contractor THUNDEI004S4. Standby power starting at $750. Call (509) 575-8362, or use the 24/7 emergency line after hours.