How do you determine what generator you need.

[floridafam]

We are going to buy a generator.

DH was able to get them from work in the past but they had many of them stolen so now they only use DC generators for their needs.

How do you determine what one to get? What wattage is best?

Thanks in advance.

 

[gallaj0]

What do you want to operate off the generator? If it's just a fridge, small tv or radio, you could get away witha small one (1500-2000 watts or so).

Try this site from honda generators; it will figure how many watts you need for what you want to operate:

Generator Calculator

 

[eeyoreiscool]

Generally the higher the power, the more stuff you can operate but the more gas it consumes. So it is important to figure out what you absolutely have to run.

 

[chrissyk]

What are you looking to run? If you want to run your AC, then you need a BIG generator (that will use a lot of gas). If you just want something to run the fridge/some lights, then you can get away with a smaller one. What is adequate in one area is not adequate in another, too. We have a generator that was FINE for our house in New England (would have run the furnace and the sump), but it is not powerful enough to run our AC in FL. I'd like to get a bigger one, but then there's the question of even being able to get enough gas to run it after a huge storm.