How Do You Figure Out What Size Automatic Generator You need To Keep A house Going When The Power Goes Out?

Question

We have a four bedroom house with central heat, electric stove,refrig,television and lights and various appliances.Also we have a heavy duty submersible pump for our water well .We are wanting to get one of the generators that automatically start when the power goes out.How to you figure out what size you need for your complete needs?

Answer 1

>>We are wanting to get one of the generators that automatically start when the power goes out.

If that's really what you want - instead of a generator that you start and hook up manually during a power outage - then you absolutely won't be able to do this without having a qualified, licensed electrician install the standby transfer switch and circuit panel next to your existing electric panel. It is the standby transfer switch that senses when your main power goes out and signals your standby generator to start.

And it is very unlikely - since you had to ask this question on this forum - that you'd be comfortable pouring the concrete pad and installing the permanent generator, and running the fuel line for that generator, outside your home - so you'll almost certainly use a professional installer / dealer to install the generator.

Since you'll be using a professional electrician, and a professional generator installer / supplier, you'll almost certainly be getting their advice on what the right size generator for you will be.

As others on this forum have noted, the main variable will be if you need to run central air conditioning or central electric heat - if so, your needs go much higher. If neither of those is required, then the pros will tell you that you need about 7.5 kilowatts (kw) at the low end up to about 10kw - and the exact amount will be what you and the pros decide after reviewing your specific circumstances.

Answer 2

Most residential homes are installed with 1phase 120 volt/ 240 volt systems. That means that you will want your generator to be able to give you 120 volts and 240 volts. Then you will want to determine how much current you'll be needing.As an example, If you have a 100 Amperage Main (Check your breaker) you will never need more than a 12,000 Watt Generator. Generators are rated in Wattage and the bigger the Watt of the generator the more things you can run. Honestly this will be overkill because your home will never use that much, most homes usually never run close to what their main is rated.

The formula is as follows Wattage=Current X Volatage.

Basically if you want your whole house to run off the generator, you will have to match your emergency panel to match the current number of your current breaker box(panel).

If you want to save some money and not overkill on the generator selection, go around your home and read how many kilowatt each appliance that you have has, that you want run off of the generator. You can find this on the nameplate of each appliance. Add up the total of all the Watt and you should have a good idea of what size generator you need.

I found a link which might help with this... Good Luck!

http://www.dynagen.com/page.aspx?id=96259

Answer 3

If you can afford this type of equipment and hook-up you'd better find out for sure all the possible problems you can run into with the electric company, some don't allow a generator hook-up and are not wired in the box for one without damage. Then find out from the dealer what you need. An expensive item like this and the hook-up will definitely require an electrician for the hook up module and the type you'll need. He should know the "How to's"

Answer 4

Surely if you only need standby electric you want to keep fridges and freezers going. Anything else would be a bonus. So the answer is buy as big a generator as you can afford then use extension cables and junction boxes to run refrigeration equipments and a few mains operated fluorescent tubes. I would guess a 3 - 5 kw should do it.

Answer 5

Check my generator web page for ideas. Contact information is there. http://members.rennlist.org/warren/generator.html

Other than the electric stove, I wouldn't recommend anything less than 5kW for what you want. Include the stove and be careful about water use and 8kW should be adequate. What is your source of central heating? If electric you may need something considerably larger, possibly 15kW or so.

Answer 6

This will make your time on Yahoo Answers powered by environmentally friendly means But on the downside, the cellar is going to smell of stale sweat unless you improve the ventilation. It might also cost more to feed your slave army all the extra bacon rinds they will need to keep their energy levels up.

Answer 7

cool guy was almost right about the formula, it's amperage X volts = watts. So if you have 220 volts, 60 amps, you need 13,2000 watt generator.