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.
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.