Introduction

Many reasons can lead your home without power for extended periods. It could be a raging storm—an impaired high-tension wire. Or merely an engineering problem at the grid.

Whatever the source of the mishap, you don’t have any power left and no way of knowing how long it will take them to fix it.

You won’t be able to turn on even the most essential home appliances when there isn’t any power.

Nothing is working with being a little bit paranoid about power. You never know when an emergency might hit. It is prudent to get prepared at all times.

In the article below, we will discuss a few ways of picking a portable generator suitable for your home appliances.

• KNOW YOUR NEEDS

Picking the right portable generator involves knowing what you want to run with it.

Every electrical and electronic appliance has a specific wattage requirement at the time of starting. It is known as the peak wattage. The machine will also consume electricity once it is up and running.

The above is true for almost every kind of appliance you may use within your home like the refrigerator, fans, air conditions, microwave, and vacuum cleaner.

You must find out the peak wattage requirement and the running wattage requirements for each of your appliances.

• CHOOSING THE RIGHT PORTABLE GENERATOR

Once you have a clear idea regarding the peak watts and running watts required, you are ready to seek out the best generator that will serve your needs.

You can find out generator specifications for various units through the internet as well. Just go to site, and browse the products shown there.

Whichever generator you choose to buy, you should make sure that you have figured out that it has a reasonably long running time. It provides power outlets with which you will be able to connect your appliances. It is easily movable from one place to another. And, it comes with a cord set.

• HOW TO CALCULATE THE RUNNING TIME OF A GENERATOR?

Generally, a portable generator will run for more than 12 hours straight. If a generator has more than 12 hours of running time, this would mean that you will need to refuel it less often.

You should seek a portable generator that would run for at least ten hours when the tank is just over half full.

You can seek further advice from the vendor or review the manual that comes along with the generator.

• CHOOSING THE RIGHT SIZE AND WATTAGE

First of all, decide which appliances you will be running simultaneously with the generator when there is a power outage.

Second, on a clean sheet of paper, write down the peak wattage and running wattage of each one of these appliances. If you don’t know wattages, consult the manual of each device.

Now, take a sum of all running wattages of your chosen devices. Seek out the appliance that consumes the highest peak wattage. This wattage should get added to the running wattage you have calculated above.

The resultant wattage is your required wattage. Your generator’s output wattage should match this requirement.

You can also use an online worksheet for calculating wattage before purchasing a portable generator.

• OUTPUT OUTLETS

If you want to run more than one appliance with your portable generator, you will need as many power outlets. Make sure that your generator has the required number of outlets.

Another crucial aspect is that you should have the right number and quality of cords available to connect your appliances with the wires.

• PORTABILITY

When you are buying a portable generator, it is evident that you will need to move it around.

Generally, a generator is a heavy machine and difficult to lift. It makes it imperative that the portable generator should have a set of wheels as well as handles, which will offer easy maneuvering.

Conclusion

A portable generator has become a necessity. Un announced that power outages could become a headache. More so when you need to carry out important work, and meet deadlines. It will help if you have the power to run your PC.

You may also want several home appliances to run when there is no power. A portable generator is always useful in these circumstances.

You can purchase such a generator without facing any problems or hurdles. The only important thing is to know what you are looking for as per your requirements.