To start, it needs approximately watts or about three times the running watts. When choosing a generator for purchase or determining what loads a generator can power, take both specifications into consideration. Have a look at our Power Calculator and our Sizing Guides. The sizing guides outline a method for determining the generator capacity required for any purpose. The Power Calculator provides a table of running watts and starting watts of common tools and appliances for reference.
Remember that appliances and tools may vary—check each one for actual power requirements. First adds up the running watts of all the appliances or tools the generator will run.
Next, find the appliance or tool with the highest starting watts and add the starting watts to the running watts. This is maximum surge watts or starting watts the generator must supply. Purchase a generator that can supply the maximum watts required for a few seconds and the continuous running watts the rest of the time.
Remember that small generators may have the capacity to run a load, but not enough reserve to supply the starting watts required. In other words, you can expect an w generator to supply about watts of running wattage — and watts of surge wattage. If you continuously run a portable generator above its rated wattage, you risk losing power to your devices, and damaging the generator. You may be wondering why we simply take the item with the highest surge wattage requirement and add it to the running watts — rather than adding all of the surge wattage requirements together.
This is because surge wattage is only required for a few seconds. Using a refrigerator as an example, extra watts are required to provide the total watts needed to get the motor to cycle on. However, after it begins to run, it will start to use less power, until it uses only about watts. Follow our tips to calculate the amount of wattage that you need, and ensure that you have plenty of power for all of your devices in an emergency situation.
The wattage of your generator is only part of the puzzle when it comes to choosing a generator. Understanding Running Watts Vs. Being able to run these appliances will ensure your safety and comfort when the power goes out. Next, list the running watts and surge watts of each item — One burner on your stove requires running watts, and 0 surge watts. Your refrigerator will need running watts and about surge watts. Note — some models can exceed the maximum wattage without triggering the circuit breaker.
This can also be estimated as X the running watts. For instance, if the current is 2A and the voltage is V, you just multiply 2A by V to get watts. Most circuit breakers will have the watts written on the handles. This is basically, the maximum amount of power a circuit can handle before it trips. Be sure to read the operating manual to determine the amps and volts. The wattage output will determine the number of appliances you can run at a time or simultaneously.
For those items with higher startup power wattage, you should use a higher rating to know the exact power requirements. Some portable generators may require additional power that can only last for a few seconds. The initial load is very important when calculating your wattage. When you ignore the power outage of your generator, you could end up stressing the internal components which may lead to failure.
Check out our recommendations for the best budget portable generators here. Most generator manufacturers use startup watts as the value when choosing a generator.
This is what you should look for after reading the specs of the generator you want. While you may expect a W generator to power W appliances, this is not always the case.
Even though these two formulas seem very different at a first glance, both human watts and electrical watts can move the same rock or engine rotor, across the same distance, in the same time. This gives us the interconversion and some basic understanding of how much power can be provided by electricity.
As briefly as possible, for any given electrical appliance with an engine:. Starting watts are the wattage needed to get a device running, or in other words, the work over time necessary to create momentum required by a device to run.
Running watts are the wattage needed to keep a device running, or in other words, the work over time necessary to keep its momentum from falling. A generator can provide this wattage continuously. After taking time to explain what wattage is, I hope that this wording will leave everything clear, rather than leaving you with unanswered questions.
In short, it takes less effort to keep something moving than to actually get it moving. Remember the last time you had to push start your car for further reference. Conveniently, generators enable you to exceed their maximum running wattage for a brief moment opens in a new tab without triggering their circuit breaker, so that you can actually start a device, even though you are already running your generator at a significant capacity.
Since generator manufacturers are in the business to sell us their products, they usually choose starting watts as the value we first see when choosing a generator, simply because it is the higher of the two. Only after reading the actual specs will you find the wattage that a generator can continuously provide. While this trick is somewhat cheeky , since one would expect that a W generator will run W worth of appliances, starting watts are not a useless number and still must be considered.
You need to have enough power to start all your devices after all! But fear not, my friends! Even though the two wattage values may seem to unnecessarily complicate our lives, they are here for our own good and help us overcome unwanted circuit breaks.
Counting them in is pretty simple. The most straightforward way to go about this is the following:. You can use a wattage calculation sheet, such as the one above from LCEC opens in a new tab , or simply use our generator sizing tool , which allows you to add custom appliances. We can distinguish three main types of load:.
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