Quote:
Originally Posted by mbhoward
DPG-"Generally how do generators work? I understand they should definitely be hooked up by a licensed electrician."
The first step is to go through the house, add up all the electrical items you want powered, then get a correctly sized generator that can handle the load. Then you will have an idea on the cost and if it is too much, then scale back what items will be powered until you can get a generator that is more affordable.
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Follow
this link to "How things work", and you'll get a basic understanding about generators. When you add up the power requirements, be sure to get the normal operating power as well as the surge power requirements, and size your generator based upon continual operation as well as surge. For example, you might purchase a 5,000W generator. But unless that generator has several thousands of surge watts, then you really can't run appliances totaling 5,000W.
Consider the following devices. Suppose you have them all hooked to your generator.
| Microwave oven | 750 watts | 1,000 watts surge |
| Furnace fan | 750 watts | 1,500 watts surge |
| Refrigerator | 1,000 watts | 2,000 watts surge |
| Well pump | 2,400 watts | 3,600 watts surge |
You would need a 5,000W generator to run all 4 devices at once. However, that generator needs to have an 6,100W surge rating. Why? Because the worst case is when the Well pump turns on when the uWave oven, furnance fan, and fridge are also running. Those 3 devices consume 2,500 watts. When the Well pump turns on, it requires an additional 3,600W for a short time, pushing the Generator to 6,100W for that short time, before settling back down to a constant 4,900W. This all assumes that no two or more devices turn on at exactly the same time, of course.