How Big of a Generator Will I Need?

Disaster can strike at any moment, and your power can go out without any warning whatsoever. Are you prepared for such as situation to arise? Unless you have a generator at your home, the answer is no! A generator can be a lifesaver when your power is out and you need the assistance of an emergency electrician in Trumbull, CT to get you back on the grid.

However, generators aren’t one-size-fits-all appliances. They come in a wide variety of sizes, and choosing the right one for your needs can be tricky if you’re not sure what to look for. This handy guide will help you determine the right generator for you and your budget:

• Make a list: When your power goes out and you’re waiting for a 24 hour electrician in Trumbull, CT, which appliances do you think you’ll need or want to keep using? There are basically two schools of thought: you can choose to just power the essentials (lights, air conditioner, hot water, fridge, etc.), or you can power everything in your home and live as though nothing happened if the power goes out. If your power is usually out for a long period of time after a storm, it may be a good idea to consider adding more appliances to your list (like laptops and TVs). On the other hand, if your power is typically back on rather quickly, there’s no point in spending more for a larger generator.
• Determine wattage: Regardless of how many or how few appliances you put on your list, your next step is to determine how much energy it takes to power each item. Do this by adding up the running and starting wattage for each appliance. For the layman, starting wattage is the amount of electricity it takes to turn the appliance on, and running wattage is the amount of electricity it takes to keep it running continuously. Starting wattage is typically two to three times higher than running wattage. We know that you probably don’t have this information off the top of your head. Luckily, you can find the wattage info for a lot of appliances online.
• Add wattage together: Once you’ve added all of your necessary wattages together, you can hit the store to buy your new generator! For example, if you’ve decided to go with the essentials and you’ll need 10,500 kilowatts of energy, you probably only need a backup generator. On the other hand, if you’re hoping to power everything in your home, you’ll need a whole-home generator. While it’s better to have too much energy than not enough when you’re waiting for an emergency electrician in Trumbull, CT, larger generators cost quite a bit more than smaller ones.

Go out and buy a generator today so you can be prepared for any freak power outages this summer. If your power does go out, be sure to give New England Electrical Contracting, Inc. a call right away. We’ll send a 24 hour electrician in Trumbull, CT to your home as quickly as possible to get your power back up and running.