Steve Kraus wrote:
Seems to me that having a transfer switch feed a subpanel with only certain
circuits on it is far too limiting. And one of those panels where
individual circuits can be flipped one way or the other is a neat idea but
again it's limiting. I think it's preferrable just to have a big switch
that cuts the whole house over so *everything* is live. Obviously that
doesn't mean you have the power to run everything at once but how much
easier not to have to run extension cords because only certain outlets are
hot. And of course the matter of hard wired fixtures and devices. Sure,
you'd have your furnace powered but what about the lights in the bathroom?
Energize the whole house and just take care on what's on at the same time.

It depends, if you have a big switch and don't have generator capacity
to support your total load someone still needs to manage loads. If you
are the "expert" you need to consider how other occupants will manage
things if you aren't there.

My buddy lives in a rural area with frequent power outages. He bought a
genset with an small automatic transfer switch. We selected all of the
critical loads such as the heating system, well pump, sewage pump,
refrigeration and basic lighting and ran them into a smaller panel which
is fed by the transfer switch. The advantage of this is that his family
doesn't have to scramble when the generator stalls because loads are
managed properly and they really don't have to do anything since all of
the essential needs are covered.

No one needs to know the "secret method" to make it work.

And a good side benefit is that since no intervention is required the
system will startup on its own. So say they are away the house isn't
going to be frozen in the winter or have a refrigerator of rotten food
in the summer.