No power at home from a storm or suffering from blackouts during summer, a generator can keep your house cool or warm, your fridges / freezers running and your computers and phones charged. Being prepared and having the right size generator is crucial to having the necessary appliances running while you have no power and relying on your generator.

All generators on the market are advertised with their output size, measured in watts. The amount of power they deliver determines how many appliances you will be able to have running at once. The quality and consistency of that power determines how well they will run. The most common size generator people buy to cover powering most household items is a generator model with a power output of around 5000 watts.
To confirm the exact generator size needed for your home, as all of us have different size appliances in our homes, make a list of what you want to have running while the powers down. From this list add up each appliances wattage (most appliances will have a i.d plate or sticker showing their wattage or amps), and this will give you an idea on how many watts are needed and what generator size to pick to match your power load.
Once you have determined the right size generator, you have the option of picking one of three types of generators. Home standby generators are installed permanently, can run on natural gas, petrol or diesel, and start automatically during an outage. Portable and inverter generators can both be moved around easily and used for other applications (job site / around the farm . camping), or kept on your property as a backup power source.

Home Standby Generators• These units cost more money and should be installed by a experienced electrician.
• These start automatically when the power goes out.
• You have your choice of fuel— propane, which is less risky to store than fuel, or diesel.
• Their output range from 5,000 to 20,000 watts.

Portable Generators• These models cost less than home standby models.
• They typically run on fuel that you may need to store in large quantities. Stabilizer must be added to your fuel for prolonged storage.
• You can use portable generators anywhere on or off your property.
• Most models have the option of electric start and wheel kits
• Their output range from 3,000 to 8,500 watts.

Inverter Generators• Because their engines are more complex, these models generally cost more than portable generators of a comparable output.
• Inverter generators are much quieter than their conventional counterparts because they throttle up and down to match demand rather than run at full power all the time. They also have more sophisticated exhaust systems which also help tamp down noise.
• They run more efficiently and produce fewer emissions. They produce a pure sine wave , with no power fluctuations, meaning their safe to run any appliance with, without the worry of blowing sensitive equipment up.

* Their output range from 1,000 to 7000 watts.

Should you install a transfer switch..??
Yes, It safely connects a home standby or portable generator to your circuit panel via one cable. Skipping it could cause appliances to be damaged, and damage the generator itself. We recommend that you have a licensed electrician install it. With home standby models, the transfer switch turns on automatically. For portable models, you'll need to flip a few switches by hand when the power goes out.