Whole-House Generator Sizing
Clearwater and, for that matter, everywhere else in Florida are prone to power outages. These can last for days or even weeks in the case of hurricanes while there are also all of those numerous shorter outages that occur as the result of our regular thunderstorms and otherwise.
Even the less-extensive power outages have the potential to cause distress as they can result in medical equipment failing and you not getting any online work done for hours with deadlines nearing or even passing. And there’s all of that food in the refrigerator and freezer that may go bad.
Plus, if the power goes out during a hot, sticky summer day and your air conditioning stops working, that can cause a lot of physical discomfort.
What size whole-house generator should you get to run your full house, including your AC, when those moments happen? We’ll tell you, helping you select one that isn’t too powerful, leading to waste, or too weak, not powering everything that it needs to and likely breaking down easily.
Wattage Requirements
It’s important to add up the expected watts that would be used by this generator, noting that your AC will most likely be amongst the most demanding appliances. Others potentially include washing machines, dryers, dishwashers, refrigerators, water heaters, electronics and cooking appliances.
What are watts? When you multiply volts (what powers or drives the electricity) and amps (the current, the flow, of that electricity), you will be calculating the watts (units of power) that are being used. Generally, you will be working with kW (kilowatts), one of which is equal to 1,000 watts.
Where can you find this information? It’s usually shown on labels or in owner’s manuals, the latter of which can usually be found online if you don’t have access to physical versions.
Also note the starting wattage, which indicates how much is used when something starts up. In most cases, this will be more than the running wattage, sometimes considerably more with air conditioners and refrigerators being amongst the ones with the most significant start-up surges. For example, an AC that needs 1,300 watts to operate might require 3,000 watts to get itself going.
Estimate how many watts of energy will be powered simultaneously. This calculator can help; it also provides typical wattage figure for different appliances if you cannot locate all of that specific information.
You should also add around 15% to your estimated total to account for unexpected power spikes and appliances that you may have neglected to include in your calculations.
Before you buy a whole-house generator and get one installed, consult a professional to ensure that your wattage estimate is accurate en ough to result in your purchase being a solid one.
All of that said, a general ballpark estimate of wattage for a typical house would be 10 kW.
What’s a Whole-House Generator?
Most who want to power their entire house will be looking for a whole-house generator, also known as a standby generator.
What’s a whole-house generator? It’s one that connects directly with your home’s electrical system and is intended to power the entire house. The primary benefit of it, other than its own power, is its ability to switch on right when a power outage starts. As a result, you will continue to experience the cool air that the AC is providing, be able to remain hard at work online and otherwise not experience any disruption other than a few seconds at most.
This is all done through an automatic transfer switch, which has detected that the regular supply of power has stopped and gets the generator started.
Since a whole-house generator isn’t powered by electricity, you may ask, what does power it? Normally, its power source consists of natural gas, diesel or liquid propane. In more populated areas, natural gas is commonly used.
What Size Whole-House Generator Do I Need?
Generators come in various sizes, the smallest being around 1 kW while the largest can exceed 500 kW.
If your home uses around the 10 kW that many do, you should get a 5-12 kW generator. This would also work if your home’s larger than that but you won’t be running large appliances with it. A ballpark figure for the cost of this is $4,000.
The next size up would be a 12-20 kW generator. It can handle larger homes, including the AC. Also keep in mind that this type of generator sometimes has a load-shedding feature, which results in the powering of only essential appliances with nonessential ones turned off, should you need that. This generator will usually cost around $6,000.
Most won’t require anything larger than a 20-50 kW generator as this one can power everything in a substantially sized house. Its cost will be roughly $12,000.
Other Considerations
As you decide which generator to purchase, also take into account other factors, not just how many kW it can power. Examples of these can include how quiet it is, if it’s simple to operate and its efficiency.
Maintenance
Once you do buy a whole-house generator, keep its maintenance in mind.
For example, you should have a maintenance inspection done by a professional at least once a year, even if it hadn’t been used in the previous year. As for when you should do this, either before summer or prior to hurricane season may be the best option – i.e. just before it’s most likely to be used.
Conversely, if you’ve used it extensively, such as during a days-long outage, you should get it serviced again as soon as possible.
Don’t Put up With Any Malarky
Don’t put up with any malarky from Mother Nature. Mister Sparky will help make sure that life goes on as usual for you and your family when storms or other causes result in your power being cut.
We’ll ensure that you purchase the best whole-house generator for your Clearwater, FL, house and install it while adhering to all national and local codes.
