Portable Generators – The ABCs
Why Use Portable Generators?
If you go on camping trips frequently or own a mobile home or an RV, chances are you would very much want to own a portable generator that can power all the modern day gizmos that you’ve gotten so very used to.
But a portable generator isn’t just for campers and mobile home or RV owners. If you happen to live in an area power outages are common, a backup power source is not a luxury but a neccessity. Why? Because in the event of a power outage, you can always rest assured that the emergency backup power will kick in in less than 15 seconds. Power that can keep your food fresh, and protect you and your family from freezing temperatures.
What’s more – you will also be able to use your TV, radio and maybe even the Internet even when the grid is not feeding your home electrical power.
What Kind Of Generator Should You Choose?
While there are a plethora of models available today, buying a portable generator that fits your needs exactly is not an easy task. To make the right buying decision, you will have to know what your needs are.
Portable generators are broadly divided into
three types, based on the use they are put to.
1. Recreational
2. Professional
3. Urgency
1. Recreational: If you go on camping trips or drive your RV to remote places and cannot live without your TV, DVD player and other conveniences you expect at home, then you would want to buy a generator that you can take with you on these trips. A generator suited for recreational uses should be able to output a power of about 1000 to 2000 watts – and should not be noisy.
To determine how powerful your generator needs to be, make a list of all the various appliances you would want to be able to use and then add up the watts each appliance needs to work. That would be the minimum power the generator should produce.
2. Professional: These are generators that can produce between 10,000 watts to 50,000 watts or even more. If your power requirements are this high, you would want to consult a professional.
3. Urgency: In the event of a power outage, having one of these would be very good indeed. You will still be able to cook, keep your food fresh, keep your home warm (or cool), pump water if you depend on a well, and even keep the security system turned on. All of which would otherwise become impossible.
Typically, a generator for home use should be able to output between 3000 to 6000 watts. But again, that depends on the number of appliances you want to be able to operate – and their total power consumption.
If you want to be able to operate the AC, water pump, fridge and other appliances – all at the same time, you might need to buy a generator that can output 10,000 watts or more.
There’s one cardinal rule you would want to be aware of when buying a generator. And that is …
Never, Ever Buy A Wrong Size Generator
If you try to run too many appliances on a small sized generator, you might damage it. And if you buy one that’s too powerful for your application, you would be wasting the excess capacity.
In either case, you aren’t gaining.
To determine the wattage you require, you would want to make a list of all the appliances you intend to use simultaneously and add up the starting wattage of each. Starting wattage is what the appliance requires to start, and this could be twice or thrice – sometimes even more - the normal wattage for some appliances.
To determine the starting wattage, refer to the user manual of each appliance.
Remember. when it comes to generators, you may not be able to return one you damaged because you connected too many appliances to it. The store you bought it from may simply refuse to take it back or exchange it for another if you damaged it due by improper use.
You will want to know exactly how many appliances you can connect to your generator. So hire a professional to estimate your needs precisely and take their advice on what size you should buy. Strolling into a home improvement store and just picking up a model that catches your fancy might not be the best thing to do.
How Much Would A Portable Generator Cost?
The price would depend on the size you are planning to buy. While a 1400 watt budget generator can be purchased for about $200, a 25,000 watt generator could cost around $3000 or more.
Here are some factors that determine the price …
1. Size (or power output) : The higher the power the generator produces, the higher the cost tends to be.
2. Technology used : If you want to use very sensitive electronics, it would be advisable to choose a generator that has inverter technology. Power from generators that use inverter technology are of a much higher quality. And generators that have this technology are more expensive.
3. Fuel used : In general, portable generators run either on gasoline or on diesel. But there are models that can work on multiple fuels like propane, gasoline or natural gas.
Models that work on multiple fuels also have a range of features like 120 Volt full power switches, GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) and other features that make them very safe to use – much safer than models that do not have these features. Which is why you should expect to pay more for them.