How to connect a power station to your house

These four methods differ less in how much power they move than in what they can reach: a cord reaches a plug, transfer equipment reaches a circuit. The fifth thing people try, a cord into a wall socket, can kill the line worker restoring your power.

VerifiedBackupPowerDataUpdated September 18, 2026

There are four. Run extension cords from the station to the appliances you want: no modification to your wiring, and it powers only what is plugged into the cord. Leave the station plugged into the wall in pass-through or UPS mode, so it takes over when the grid drops. Have a licensed electrician fit transfer equipment, a manual transfer switch or an inlet box with an interlock, which disconnects the house from the grid before the station feeds it. Or buy the maker's own home panel. Never allowed: plugging the station into a socket to push power back into the wiring. Backfeeding the mains is unsafe and illegal, and it can electrocute lineworkers.

The five options, side by side
Running extension cords
UPS and pass-through mode
A manual transfer switch
A power inlet box with a panel interlock
The makers' own panels, and the generic kits
What a 240V outlet on the station does and does not do
Backfeeding, bonded neutrals and permits

The five options, side by side

Two of these you can do this afternoon, with no tools. The other three touch your home's main electrical system, which means a licensed electrician and a permit: a transfer switch and an interlock kit alike must be done correctly and safely.

The install costs are the only prices here. An interlock kit with a power inlet box typically costs $900 to $1,400 professionally installed, including the kit, inlet box, backfed breaker, wiring and permit fees; hourly transfer-switch work runs $50 to $100.

Way in	Reaches	Who installs	Install cost	Cannot do
Extension cord	Only what you plug into it	You, today	Nothing	Reach anything wired in
UPS / pass-through mode	The same plugged-in loads, no switchover gap	You, today	Nothing	Power house circuits; bypass is capped
Manual transfer switch	A sub-panel of pre-selected circuits	Electrician, permit	$50-$100 an hour	Reach a circuit not wired in
Inlet box with a panel interlock	Any circuit in your panel	Electrician, permit	$900-$1,400 typical	Manage the load ceiling for you
The maker's own panel	The circuits it is wired to, automatically	Electrician	Not published	Fit a station it was not built for

What each way reaches, who may fit it, what it costs to install, and its limit.

Running extension cords

This is the method that needs nobody's permission. You run extension cords directly from the station to the essential appliances you want to power, and no modification to your home's wiring is required. The cord is the system, so its reach is the reach of the backup.

That boundary is why the other three methods exist, and there is no informal way round it. EcoFlow's own DELTA Pro 3 manual says it plainly: do not hook up a power station to the electrical system of a building without a properly installed isolation switch. A cord to an appliance is fine; a cord into a socket is not.

A power inlet box is the smaller upgrade if the tangle rather than the reach is the problem: the station feeds the house through one properly rated generator cord instead of a cord to each appliance.

UPS and pass-through mode

Leave the station plugged into the wall with your gear plugged into it. Pass-through charging means it can receive power from the wall while supplying connected devices, but that alone is not UPS mode, which also needs a fast switchover. EcoFlow's own explainer treats 30 milliseconds or more as too slow to be called UPS-grade. Current units are inside it: the DELTA Pro 3's manual quotes a 10 ms transfer time, Anker's F3800 Plus quotes 20 ms from a 120V wall outlet, and Jackery's Explorer 5000 Plus switches within 20 ms, with an app-togglable online UPS mode at 0 ms through the NEMA 5-20 ports only, capped at 3,600W.

Whether those milliseconds matter depends on what is plugged in. EcoFlow says refrigerators and televisions are unlikely to be damaged by blackouts and voltage drops, because they are not designed to have uninterrupted access to power. PCs and precision electronics are the opposite: imperceptible variations cause irreversible damage.

The limits sit in the pass-through path, not the battery. The DELTA Pro 3's bypass is rated 15A for three hours at most, 12A continuously, and X-Boost is off by default and unavailable while the unit charges from AC. Anker caps UPS output on the US F3800 at 1,440W, its 240V ports dead while the 120V ports run in UPS mode.

A manual transfer switch

A manual transfer switch gives you a small sub-panel of pre-selected circuits with switches you flip, moving each by hand between the utility and the station. The safety is in the sequence: it disconnects your home from the grid before connecting it to the station, so selected circuits run without backfeeding. Reliance, which makes them, sells that as eliminating the dangers associated with back-feeding.

The size is modest and fixed at install time. Reliance's Pro/Tran 2 kit, model 306A1, manages six circuits at 30A and 125V and ships completely pre-wired; GenerLink's maker, arguing for its own product, puts the general case at six to eight. They are chosen once, by you and your electrician, and are what you have during the outage: the drawback and the appeal at once, because nobody has to make judgment calls in the dark.

A power inlet box with a panel interlock

An interlock kit is a piece of metal, and that is the whole idea: a plate or pivot arm on your main panel that blocks the generator backfeed circuit breaker while the main breaker remains on, so the two cannot physically be on together. Pair it with a power inlet box and feed the station in through a properly rated generator cord. Reliance's PB30 inlet is rated 30 amps at 120/240 VAC, and the PB series runs to 50A at 125/250V.

What you gain over a transfer switch is reach: you can power any circuit in that panel during an outage, as long as you stay within what the station can produce, which also means nobody watches that ceiling except you. Reliance's instructions say the work must be done by a qualified electrician in compliance with all applicable electrical codes, and its Panel/Link panel is labelled not for do-it-yourself installation.

The makers' own panels, and the generic kits

The fourth method is the maker's own panel. Compatibility is not a detail: each fits a short list.

EcoFlow Smart Home Panel 2: 20-millisecond auto-switchover, with a Circuit Control mode for mission-critical circuits. It takes the DELTA Pro Ultra, the original DELTA Pro, or three DELTA Pro 3 units with six Extra Batteries, though its FAQ says the DELTA Pro 3 and DELTA Pro Ultra cannot be used simultaneously.
Anker SOLIX Home Power Panel: integrates the SOLIX F3800, the utility grid and roof solar. One or two F3800s connect through a 100A circuit breaker, with an optional 12-circuit backup load centre; two together cap at 6kW and 25A continuous. Split-phase 120/240V only, not 120/208V.
Jackery: transfer switches, not a panel. The automatic Smart Transfer Switch is built for the Explorer 5000 Plus, up to two units, with 12 circuits at 120V or 6 at 240V, rated to 240V/30A and 7200W. The pre-wired Manual Transfer Switch is 120V/30A, for the 2000 Plus and 3600 Plus.
Reliance Controls and GenerLink are brand-neutral: any station with the right outlet feeds them. GenerLink is the odd one, fitting behind the electric meter rather than inside the panel, typically in under 30 minutes, installed only by a licensed electrician or the utility, and only on single-phase homes with a 200 amp or smaller service.

What a 240V outlet on the station does and does not do

Several stations put out 240V from one box. The EcoFlow DELTA Pro 3 has a native split-phase pair built in, a NEMA L14-30R at 120V/240V~16.7A and a NEMA 6-20R at 240V~16.7A, and in 240V mode it supplies exactly those two. The DELTA Pro Ultra discharges 7,200W at 120V/240V; the original DELTA Pro needs two chained through the add-on Double Voltage Hub, which carries the L14-30. Anker's SOLIX F3800 gives 6,000W at 120V and 240V through a NEMA 14-50 and a NEMA L14-30. Jackery's Explorer 5000 Plus has an L14-30R and a 14-50.

What none of that buys is a connection to your house. A transfer switch is what isolates your backup source from the utility by opening the connection to the grid; a 240V socket does not, and plugging into house wiring without isolation can send power backward into utility lines. Jackery says as much, directing Explorer 5000 Plus owners to its separate Smart Transfer Switch.

The outlets also carry conditions. The DELTA Pro 3 cannot run 120V and 240V at once: using the AC POWER IN/OUT port disables all AC output sockets and the AC input socket. The F3800's 240V output cannot be used while it charges via 120V AC, and the Explorer 5000 Plus disables its L14-30R and 14-50 in bypass mode on a wall outlet.

Backfeeding, bonded neutrals and permits

Backfeeding means pushing power into your wiring without disconnecting the grid, usually with a double-ended cord into a dryer outlet. Generac explains why that is fatal rather than merely illegal: line workers may assume a de-energized line is safe, and backfed power can kill them.

The code answer is the transfer switch; the mechanical answer is the interlock plate that will not let both breakers close. NEC-derived guidance on optional standby systems requires a transfer switch so the service and the alternate source cannot operate simultaneously. A permit is required the moment you install either, and most building departments expect a licensed electrician to sign off.

In a bonded-neutral unit the neutral is connected to the frame. Put a fully GFCI-protected, bonded-neutral source on a standard transfer switch and the system sees two neutral-to-ground connections, which trips the GFCI; a floating-neutral unit relies on your panel's neutral instead.

Backfeeding the external mains is unsafe and illegal: it can electrocute lineworkers, start fires and damage equipment, and in many jurisdictions it violates the National Electrical Code.

Anything touching your main electrical system is licensed-electrician work with a permit behind it; Anker's manual even specifies insulating gloves, safety glasses and rubber-soled shoes.

CPSC advises operating generators outdoors only, at least 20 feet from homes and buildings.

Questions people ask

Can I just plug my power station into a wall outlet to power the house?

No. That is backfeeding, which is unsafe and illegal: it can electrocute lineworkers, start fires and damage equipment. EcoFlow's own manual says not to hook a power station up to a building's electrical system without a properly installed isolation switch.

Interlock kit or manual transfer switch: which one should I get?

A transfer switch gives you a sub-panel of pre-selected circuits with switches you flip, so the choices are made at install time. An interlock lets you power any circuit in the panel, as long as you stay within what the station can produce.

Do I need a permit for any of this?

Yes. You need a permit the moment you install a transfer switch or interlock to connect a portable source to your home's wiring, and most building departments expect a licensed electrician to sign off on the subpermit.

My station has a 240V outlet. Doesn't that mean it can run the house?

No, and it is the common misreading. A 240V outlet lets you plug a 240V appliance into the station. It isolates nothing: a transfer switch opens the connection to the grid, and without it power can flow backward into utility lines.

Can I leave the station plugged in all the time as a home UPS?

That is what pass-through mode is for: the station takes power from the wall while supplying connected devices, switching fast enough that sensitive gear does not notice. Read the bypass rating, not the inverter rating: the DELTA Pro 3's is 15A for three hours at most, and Anker caps the US F3800 at 1,440W.

Why does a bonded-neutral unit trip its GFCI on the transfer switch?

Because the system ends up with two neutral-to-ground paths instead of one. In a bonded-neutral unit the neutral is connected to the frame, so a standard transfer switch leaves two neutral-to-ground connections and the GFCI trips. A floating-neutral unit keeps its neutral off the frame.