GenerLink: the transfer switch that lives behind your meter
A GenerLink is a collar that sits between your electric meter and its socket. Plug a portable generator into it and your whole panel is live, up to the device's limit, with no rewiring and no extension cords through a window. It is the cleanest way to connect a portable generator to a house, and it has hard limits worth knowing before you spend on it.
What it is and how it works
The GenerLink (made by Global Power Products) is a meter-mounted transfer switch. A utility crew pulls your meter, sets the collar into the meter socket, and reseats the meter on top of it: about 20 minutes, and nothing inside your panel changes. A power cord, 20 feet standard, runs from the collar to your generator.
When the generator runs, the device senses it and disconnects your house from the utility grid, which is the safety job every transfer switch exists to do: your generator cannot backfeed the lines and endanger a repair crew. When utility power returns and the generator stops, it switches back. Every circuit in your panel is available, and you choose what runs by flipping breakers, exactly as if the power company were feeding you. There are step-by-step details in the sources below.
What it is not: automatic. The GenerLink does not start your generator, and it does not manage loads. You wheel the generator out, start it, and plug in one cord. In return you skip the electrician, the sub-panel, and the inlet box.
Sizes and models
| Model | Rating | Hard cap at 240 V | Cord plug | Surge protection |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MA23-N | 30 A | 7,200 W | L14-30 | No |
| MA23-S | 30 A | 7,200 W | L14-30 | Yes, 75 kA per phase |
| MA24-N | 40 A | 9,600 W | 14-50 | No |
| MA24-S | 40 A | 9,600 W | 14-50 | Yes, 75 kA per phase |
The cap is the number to plan around. A 40-amp unit feeding a 200-amp house does not make the house 200-amp capable on generator power; it makes 9,600 W available to whichever breakers you turn on. Size the generator to the loads you will actually run, with the sizing calculator, and remember the chain rule: the smallest link wins. A 9,000 W generator on a 40-amp GenerLink is a 9,000 W system.
What it costs
Prices checked October 2026, for the 40-amp model with the standard 20-foot cord:
- United States: about $1,100 to $1,300 for the unit. Global Power Products' own estimate puts the hardware near $1,100, a US retailer lists it at $1,259, and professional installation typically adds $250 to $450 where the utility charges for it.
- Canada: about $2,000 to $2,400 CAD. The 40-amp non-surge model starts at $2,029.99 CAD at the GenerLink Canada store, the surge-protected MA24-S lists at $2,012 CAD on Amazon.ca, and electrical distributors list bundled versions higher.
Compare that with the alternatives below before deciding the GenerLink is the cheap option or the expensive one. Against an installed standby system it is a rounding error; against a $150 interlock kit it is real money buying convenience and a utility-blessed install.
The catches
- Your utility has to allow it. The device lives on the utility's side of your panel, so the utility installs it and the utility can say no. More than 800 utilities have approved it, per Global Power Products, but check yours before ordering.
- The cap is a cap. Forty amps is 9,600 W no matter how big the generator behind it is. Two AC compressors starting together will still trip something; the GenerLink moves power, it does not create it. Load discipline still applies, which is the managed outage in one sentence.
- Nothing starts itself. If nobody is home, nothing runs. Houses that need unattended backup (medical loads, a sump with no battery bridge, long absences) are standby houses, and the honest comparison is standby vs portable.
- It does not fix fuel or runtime. A portable on a GenerLink still burns what it burns. The fuel & runtime guide covers that math.
The other ways to connect a portable
- Interlock kit: a plate and breaker arrangement in your panel, usually the cheapest legal route. Fully manual, needs panel space, and an inspector has to like your panel.
- Manual transfer switch with inlet box: a dedicated switch and outdoor inlet, wired by an electrician. Feeds selected circuits or, in whole-panel versions, everything up to its rating.
- GenerLink: no panel work at all, whole panel available, utility-installed, priced in the middle. The price of admission is the utility's permission and the 30 or 40 amp ceiling.
- Automatic standby transfer switch: comes with a standby generator, starts and switches on its own, and costs what standby costs. Different product for a different problem.
Who it suits
The GenerLink is the natural partner of the managed outage: a house with a portable or inverter generator, a short critical list, and someone home to plug in a cord. It is also, not coincidentally, the setup behind this site: a 40-amp GenerLink and a 9,000 W tri-fuel inverter carry a real house through multi-day outages, with battery-backed sump pumps bridging the gap before the generator ever comes out. The About page tells that story, and the calculator's “See a real house” example loads the actual load list.
Sources & notes
- Device description, meter-socket installation, automatic grid isolation, and cord system: Global Power Products GenerLink product literature, as reproduced in the Gescan MA24-S listing.
- US price and installation range: Hutch Mountain GenerLink listing ($1,259) and Global Power Products' hardware and installation estimates ($1,100 hardware, $250 to $450 installation, 800+ utilities approved), reported in WardsAuto's coverage of the Ford and Global Power Products home backup program.
- Canadian prices: GenerLink Canada store (40-amp non-surge from $2,029.99 CAD) and Amazon.ca MA24-S listing ($2,012 CAD), checked October 2026.
- Model ratings (MA23 30 A, MA24 40 A, surge variants at 75 kA per phase): manufacturer model numbering as listed by Global Power Products distributors above. The watt caps are arithmetic: amps × 240 V.
- This page is planning guidance, not electrical advice. Meter work belongs to your utility, and transfer equipment should be confirmed for your service before purchase.