What Size Generator Do You Need For A House?

A home generator is perfect for providing a lot of power and electricity during blackouts, storms or in homes where electrical service is not always readily available.

Homes that are off the grid can often suffer power outages that can be very frustrating and long lasting.

A home generator acts as your own personal source of electric power. This can automatically turn on and begins powering your home within seconds of a blackout.

In this sense, a generator can be an essential item for your home. Utilizing a home generator will keep things running smoothly in your house, even if you lose power. 

If your location suffers from frequent outages, then you may benefit from having a home generator. When the grid goes down, or the lights go out, then you know you have a reliable back up plan so that your life can continue. 

There is nothing worse than a power outage when you are in the middle of working from home, or bingeing your favorite show. 

Power losses stop you in your tracks and can slow you down. With a generator for your home, you will never have to worry about power outages or blackouts again. 

What Size Generator Do You Need for A House?

Home generators come in a variety of styles and sizes. Many generators range from 700 to over 500,000 watts of power, so there is surely one for every home. 

In order to determine what size generator is best for your house, you will first need to figure out what appliances and utilities you want to keep running. If you just want to keep your lights on, then you will not need to have a powerful generator as a backup plan. 

However if you want to keep all of your household appliances in working order, then you may need a stronger generator. You must also consider the wattage of the appliances that you wish to power. 

Once you have this figured out, you will need a generator that has the capacity to power all of your household items, and one that can exceed their combined wattage. 

Generator Styles and Sizes

Typically, there are 3 types of generators, and they are all intended for different uses. You can purchase portable generators for small uses. These are affordable and are great for travel and camping as a means of giving you some extra power. 

You can also find inverter generators that are much more fuel efficient and quiet to use, and there are whole house generators. 

Whole house generators are best used as a backup plan for keeping your home powered and generated. This is the perfect option if you live in an area that suffers storms, blackouts or power grid interruptions.   

Generators are sized in relation to their output, rather than their physical size. Most generators are measured by watts or kilowatts, in accordance with their electric power outage. 

When looking for the right size generator for your house it is important that you find one that will be the right fit. A generator that is too big will cost a lot more to operate, and waste electricity. Whereas a generator that is too small in capacity may overheat, overload or fry your household appliances. 

How to Determine What Size Generator You Need

Finding the right sized generator for your home is not as simple as thinking the bigger the house, the bigger the generator. There are many different components to consider before sizing a generator for your home.

Your home’s electrical system plays a key role in the size generator you will need. It also depends on the complexity and variety of household features and appliances that you wish to power.

For instance if you have many lights, appliances, or a jacuzzi or air conditioning system, then you will need a generator that can withstand a large capacity.

However, if you would only like to power essential items, then a much smaller generator will work just fine, and be more cost efficient for your home.

To calculate the correct sized generator for your home, you should ensure that you know what and how many appliances you wish to power. Next you must examine the wattages of each appliance on your list. 

You can find the wattage of your appliances on their boxes or via labels on their models.

Once you have done this, you must combine your household appliance wattages together. Then, you can use the total as a way of calculating what size generator you require for your needs.  

We would always recommend that you double check your calculations to ensure that they are correct. You can always seek advice from the generator company to check that the one you are looking to purchase is suitable for your needs.

In addition, we recommend that you purchase a generator that has capacity for more than your calculations. This way, you are ensuring that your home generator will never overheat or overwork when powering your appliances. 

This will ensure proper safety for your home and its contents, whilst also maintaining the life of your appliances and your generator. 

What Size Generator for a House Off the Grid?

If you live off the grid or in a secluded area that is prone to losing power, then you should invest in a large sized generator for your home.

This way, you know that if you have a blackout, you will not have to worry about powering just a few items, but you can power your whole house with a large generator. 

Blackouts often last for a few hours at a time, and you will need a way of being able to use all appliances such as your lights, refrigerator, television, phone line and many more. 

This way, you can carry on as normal, and not put your life on hold.