How to Size a Home Generator the Right Way

Few residential appliances provide more help during power outages than home standby generators. They restore your property’s power, allowing your family to live comfortably until the city resolves the blackout. However, installing an incorrectly sized generator will lead to limited electricity that won’t power your home and electronic devices efficiently. 

In this post, Gabe’s Electrical Services aims to explain how to size a home generator and ensure you purchase the best model for your home.

Gabe’s Electrical Services ranks as one of Newtown, Connecticut’s most trusted professional electrical companies. If you need an experienced electrician in Newtown, CT, who can handle even the most complicated electrical projects quickly and without issue, contact Gabe’s Electrical Services.

Your Sizing Guide for Generators in Newtown, Connecticut

Having the correctly sized home generator provides an essential tool in powering your electronic appliances, fixtures, and devices during an outage. An undersized generator won’t supply enough power to your property, while an oversized model will waste fuel and provide inefficient electricity. However, once you understand how to size a home generator, you won’t have to worry about purchasing an insufficient unit.

Follow the steps below to find the proper generator size for your Newtown, Connecticut, residence.

Step One: Determine Your Home’s Size

Your home’s square footage becomes one of the biggest determining factors affecting your standby generator’s size. Although it won’t give you the exact size of your generator, it will provide a rough estimate and narrow down your home generator selection. The chart below features some ideal home generator sizes based on a Newtown home’s square footage:

• Under 1,500 square feet with a three-ton air conditioner: 8.5 kW generator
• 1,500 to 3,000 square feet with a four-ton air conditioner: 12.5 kW generator
• 3,000 to 4,000 square feet with a five-ton air conditioner: 14 kW generator

Again, your home’s square footage only gives you one element that affects your generator’s size. These rough estimates provide a starting point for your search. You must assess several other factors to determine your home’s ideal generator size.

Step Two: Determine What You Need to Power

Some people want their generators to power their entire home, while others just want enough electricity to power essential fixtures and electronics. If you want a generator large enough to support your whole property, use one of the following methods to determine its size:

• Assess your electrical bills to find your highest monthly wattage over 12 months.
• Find the peak load wattage on your most recent energy bill.

If you don’t need a generator to power your entire home and only want to support essential appliances, find the surge wattages (also called starting watts) of said appliances to determine your generator’s size. Below, we show some essential residential appliances and their average surge wattage requirements:

• Freezer/refrigerators: 2,900 watts
• Two-ton AC systems: 8,750 watts
• Electric water heaters: 4,500 watts
• 800W microwave: 1,300 watts
• Washing machines: 1,200 watts
• Dryers: 6,570 watts

Most appliances have product labels featuring their exact surge wattages, so check your appliances’ labels to find more accurate numbers.

Step Three: Add 15% to 25% to the Total Surge Wattage

Once you combine your appliances’ surge wattages, increase the total by 15% to 25%. This ensures you don’t overload your generator during use. Overloaded home standby generators can damage your electronic devices and give out prematurely due to immense stress. Adding 15% to 25% to your total will ensure you have an efficient generator that will power your appliances and withstand the test of time.

If the total surge wattage falls between two generator sizes after increasing it by 15% to 25%, always purchase the bigger model. Buying the smaller model will likely lead to overloading and/or insufficient power.

If you need help choosing the right generator for your Newtown, Connecticut, home, contact Gabe’s Electrical Services. We have vast experience installing home standby generators of all sizes, qualifying us for all your generator needs.

Contact Gabe’s Electrical Services for Top-Quality Generator Installation in Newtown, Connecticut

Next time you need to size a generator in Newtown, contact Gabe’s Electrical Services. Our electricians will explain how to size a home generator and install it at a price that won’t break the bank. We are your trusted generator service and will ensure you have the perfect generator for your home and budget.

Don’t get stuck in the dark next time your power goes out. Contact Gabe’s Electrical Services at (203) 350-7491 or book your appointment online and receive top-quality generator sizing and installation services in Newtown, Connecticut, today!