We had a 4 day power outage, long enough for me to order this and get it installed before the power came back on (Thanks Amazon Prime!). We were not going to die but the house did get down into the low 40's and was still dropping. Well worth the investment just in case you lose power in the winter. The instructions are aimed at installing this on your electrical panel although it can be hooked up directly to the furnace, If you are going that route, there may be other boxes that are a bit easier and have clearer instructions for that. I installed this in the dark which added a bit of time but it still o only took about 30 minutes. It did take me a bit to figure out how to connect the wires to the plug and get that into the box as it comes uninstalled and without any instructions and no markings I could see (at least by flashlight). Once that was done, the actual instructions to wire it up to the panel were very complete. (Instructions on how to hook it up at the furnace if you go that route are a bit less complete). I would not normally mess with the electrical panel but since there was no power within 2 miles of me, I decided to try it and it was a very easy install. 4 wires and the instructions on that were super clear (plus there are some YouTube videos available too). If the power was on, I would have called an electrician for this just because you do have to open the panel up and it is possible to kill yourself in there ;-) But after doing it, it is certainly doable for a careful, brave DIYer with some basic wiring skills. I knocked it down from 5 - 4 because the plug is not pre-installed like the picture and there are no instructions on this but the thing works perfectly once it is hooked up..

Instructions were detailed and installation was easy. Tested TF-151W with my generator and had no problem with the transfer to emergency power.
Since my breaker panel was enclosed in sheet rock I had to remove the flex conduit supplied and use EMT conduit. If you have any questions or are not sure what you doing you should hire a qualified electrican.

After Hurricane Sandy I wanted something like this to plug in my small generator and keep the heat on in the house.

If you're handy this is an easy job. If you're not comfortable working in the main panel, CALL AN ELECTRICIAN. Seriously, it's not worth risking your life.

That said, this is a quality item, includes what you need to set up a small transfer switch for your heating system during an emergency. If you can afford it, get a bigger generator and a panel. For me and my family this will do the trick... and I hope we won't have to use it!

Easy to install for a non-electrician. Note: the neutral wire is always connected whether switched on-line or generator. I didn't find this to be a problem though. As this grounds the generator as long as the generator is connected to the transfer switch (but you should always ground the generator frame to a copper pole driven into the ground). Check your local codes.

I installed this next to my elec panel so I could power a generator (OK, actually an inverter) to keep my heating system electronics and circulator pumps going during a power loss. Easy to wire, everything included. Looks very professional -- I had thought of doing some hack like this in the past, but this is definitely the right way to do it. It will add value to your house without raising the ire of future inspectors.

BTW for the invertor hookup, I also got this: Leviton 4937 Weatherproof Inlet on Flush Mount Wallplate with Aluminum Cover, Straight Blade Receptacle, Gray to create a passthrough from the outside to the inside. Then just a regular single elec output on the inside of the basement to run an extension cord to this transfer switch.