While professional contractors and electricians are usually the ideal source to consult when it comes to upgrading your home's power supply, some have been known to give terrible advice. One Redditor reached out to r/AskElectricians to follow up on a suggestion that could have turned deadly.
"I live in an area where I lose power a lot. After the last outage I mentioned to one of the electricians at work what a PITA it is running extension cords all over because I don't have a transfer switch," the original poster said. "... He told me to just backfeed through the dryer outlet. … I found on Amazon a 10-50 to l14-30 adapter, so it seems that it can be done."
Commenters were alarmed at this idea.
"What is being proposed is called a 'suicide cord' and should never be done, and that 'electrician' should have their butt kicked for even suggesting it. There are interlock kits that are fairly reasonable that will do the job safely," one user wrote.
"If you do it incorrectly, the consequences can be catastrophic," another said. "... I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, ever."
"Back-feeding into a dryer outlet is inherently dangerous for the homeowner," a third person commented.
A much safer way to power your home during outages is to install battery storage, which is often paired with a system such as solar panels that generates your own power. With this setup, you can charge your battery when power is cheap, then use the energy at peak times to save money. During an outage, you will have battery power to keep your home running. If you want more information about home battery storage options, including competitive estimates, you can use EnergySage's free tools.
The original poster listened to the feedback. In a comment, they said, "I had an electrician install an actual legit generator transfer switch with an interlock."
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