Is my portable generator powerful enough? Here's how to find out.

Portable generators are rated on how much electricity they can produce. This is expressed by two factors: continuous wattage (how much total electricity a generator can produce consistently) and peak or surge wattage (the maximum amount of electricity it can produce at a given moment).

Put another way, continuous wattage tells you how many appliances and electronics your portable generator can operate at the same time. Peak wattage, on the other hand, tells you how much power that generator can crank out for a short period of time. This is important to know because many large appliances, such as refrigerators or air conditioners, require more power to start up than they do to operate.

Finding the Right Generator

Choosing the best generator for your needs begins with calculating how much energy your household appliances consume. To help you out, we've listed the typical range of continuous (aka running) wattage as well as the starting wattage for some of the essential appliances you might use during a power outage.

To use the table, add up the running watts for the appliances you plan to use; the total is how much continuous power output you need. Your generator's peak wattage should exceed the total running wattage you require, plus the highest starting wattage requirement.

Of course, you don't have to run every single appliance at once. If you turn off your hot water heater when you use the air conditioning, or don't do laundry and use the microwave at the same time, you can reduce your energy needs.

* Requires a 240-volt outlet

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