TL;DR
A generator interlock kit is the sliding metal plate retrofitted to an electrical panel that mechanically prevents the main breaker and a generator backfeed breaker from being on at the same time, letting a portable generator power selected circuits while making it physically impossible to energize utility lines. It is the budget alternative to a transfer switch, legal only when the kit is listed for the exact panel model and paired with a proper inlet box.
What it means
A generator interlock kit is the sliding metal plate retrofitted to an electrical panel that mechanically prevents the main breaker and a generator backfeed breaker from being on at the same time, letting a portable generator power selected circuits while making it physically impossible to energize utility lines. It is the budget alternative to a transfer switch, legal only when the kit is listed for the exact panel model and paired with a proper inlet box. Inspectors reject generic or homemade plates, and the deadly hazard it prevents — backfeeding linemen — is why suicide cords remain absolutely forbidden.
Where it sits in the glossary
Generator interlock kit is part of the Trade jargon group inside the ProFix Directory glossary. Browse every term in this category from the glossary index.
Why Ohio homeowners should know it
This is a term Ohio homeowners encounter when reading contractor quotes, hiring paperwork, or inspection reports. Understanding it well enough to ask one good follow-up question is usually all the protection a homeowner needs.
ProFix Directory keeps definitions short on the index page and saves the longer context — Ohio-specific rules, where the term comes from, and which ProFix tools touch it — for these per-term pages so the term is easy to cite and easy to share.
ProFix tools that touch this term
See also
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