If you are planning to buy or own a portable generator it is essential to understand that a lot of things play an essential role in the buying decision. Even so, the most significant and crucial aspect is to specifically know your total power requirements. Overusing the generator or going above it’s recommended limits has negative effects on fuel efficient and causes irreparable damage to the generator. In certain cases, it also loss equipment feeding directly off the generator.

power requirement before buying generator

Our suggestions is to first tabulate the total power consumption that you will need and then add about 15 % extra just to be safe and aspect in peak wattage.
An excellent way to start and know the exact requirements for any generator is to discover the user or owner manual of all equipment add the suggested wattage for each unit to reach a definite, yet not unique number. If you can’t discover the manual or are short of time, relate to the table given below and recognize an average wattage for any appliance. This is much more of a broad summarize rather than an precise calculation. I have tabulated the wattage based on my home appliance’s user manuals.

Appliance Wattage Appliance Wattage
Personal Computer 500-2,000 Broiler 1,400
Planer 300-900 Central Air Conditioning 2,000-4,000
Refrigerator/Freezer 600-800 Chain Saw 1,000-1,800
Router 100-1,300 Circular Saw 1,200-1,600
Sanders (belt, disc, orbital) 250-1,500 Coffeemaker 400-800
Shop Vacuum 700-1,400 Drills (depends on size) 250-1,200
Space Heater 1,250 Electric Furnace 5,000-25,000
String Trimmer 600-1,100 Electric Range (oven only) 5,000
Sump Pump 1,500 Electric Range (one element) 2,500
Table Lamp (tri-lite) 150 Hair Dryer 1,200-1,500
Television 100-350 Heater (radiant) 1,300
3/4 HP Paint Sprayer 1,800 Hedge Clippers 300-1,000
Toaster 1,100-1,700 Hot Plate 1,250
Water Heater 3,000-4,500 Leaf Blower 1,000-1,400
Water Pump 1,000-2,000 Microwave 1,200
Window Air Conditioner 600-1,500 Miter Saw 500-1,000

Once you have the estimated wattage value, multiple the resultant number with two and then choose on a generator wattage. Once you know the wattage, it pretty narrows down your search criteria and will let you easily compare and buy a power generator.