When it comes to powering your home, the size of the generator you need depends on the amount of energy your household requires. The average American home needs between 30 and 50 kilowatts of energy to meet its basic electrical needs, so a 20 kW generator is too small. To ensure that your home has enough electricity when the grid goes down, you'll need a generator of at least 30 kW. Solar-powered portable generators are a great option for powering your home.
Not only can they be charged through a wall outlet when you have electrical power, but they can also be ready to work when you lose it. The size of the generator is also determined by the type and quality of the circuits, as well as the appliances you plan to use. If your total power requirements are 3000 watts or more, you should buy an 8000 watt generator as it has a higher capacity than you need. This could help reduce voltage drops and blackouts when there is an unexpected increase in energy demand.
Your appliances may require more or less energy, depending on the energy used, so knowing what size generator you need for your home will vary from person to person. The first step in determining what size generator you need is to identify how many watts your appliances are using on a given day. Add up the power of everything you want to power through your generator, whether during a power outage or in a location with limited or no electrical service. A whole-house generator is much more expensive than a typical portable generator, but it can save you money in the long run by protecting your appliances from power surges.
Small generators can power one or two appliances, while a whole-house generator (sometimes called a home backup generator) can power the entire house. They will turn on automatically during a power outage and provide a constant current of energy to power all your appliances. These generators don't run on natural gas or propane, so you'll need stabilized gasoline to prepare for a power outage. It's always better to have a generator that's a little too big than one that's too small. However, you cannot use a generator with 2000 starting watts and 1600 operating watts to power it, even if it meets the operating power requirements.
Portable inverter generators don't have this problem and can be safely used to operate sensitive electronic components.
