Does the automatic transfer switch of the home standby generator system need to be installed outside of the home?

The location of the transfer switch depends on its type and the size of your generator. In most cases, the transfer switch is mounted on the wall next to your main breaker panel – this panel is inside a garage, the transfer switch will be inside the garage. Likewise, if the breaker panel is outside of the home, the transfer switch will also be installed outside of the home.

For smaller generators powering only essentials, the non-essentials may remain in the main panel, and essentials may be placed in a sub-panel. With this setup, the transfer switch is installed at the sub-panel to ensure that those essential appliances are powered by the generator in the case of an outage.