Home Backup

Portable Home Generators

Portable Home Generators run essentials working during an outage. Depending on size, they might run sump pumps, refrigerator and freezer, lights, and even medical equipment during an outage. What you can run depends entirely on how much power generator can supply. Choose a generator by how much power you need with a 25 percent margin.

A small Portable Generator for the House can run just a few appliances. A larger, Whole House Portable Generator could run major appliances like furnaces and air conditioning with the right connection, but not with a regular extension cord.

Extension cords are good for a few small loads or generators with only 120-volts receptacles. Ideally, a 240-volt generator cord plugged into a transfer switch provides the easiest and safest connection option.

Portable Generator for House

Portable Home Generators have power ratings in Watts or Kilowatts. The typical household 15-Amp outlet provides up to 1800 watts. 20-Amp circuits supply up to 2400 watts. These same outlets on a Portable Generator for House appliances can only supply as much power as the generator’s rated capacity in continuous or running watts.

This Sizing Guide for Portable Home Generators explains Starting Watts and Running Watts. Some generator product names include the starting watts, other use the running watts. Either naming method is valid. Check the product specifications for the power you need. Don’t buy Portable Generators for Home Use on the product name alone.

Portable Generators for Home Use

Some Portable Generators for Home Use only provide 120-volt power. Others have a mix of 120-volt and 240-volt receptacles. If you’re only planning to run extension cords from the generator to your appliances, you can choose the 120-volt only option. These generators usually have less power capacity than models offering 120/240-volt outlets.

A Whole House Portable Generator should offer 120/240-volt outlets to run major appliances including an air conditioner, furnace, and other hard-wired appliances.

Whole House Portable Generator

A Whole House Portable Generator has enough power capacity to run many appliances, including at least one major appliance, all at the same time. Ideally, they connect to the house with a manual transfer switch which makes connections easy and allows hard-wired appliances like a central air conditioner to run.

This type of Portable Generator for House appliances has a power rating ranging from 10,000 to 20,000 running watts and 240-Volt Outlets. Generators with a rated capacity over 12,000 watts may need a whole house manual transfer switch or a pair of 50-amp transfer switch connections.