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The Power Store!
 How to Calculate your Power Generation Requirements
The most popular question we are asked is "What size Generator do I need?"
You can figure out your power needs by using the following table of values and our power calculator
and conversion calculations for kW to kVA and kW to HP.
The most popular question we are asked is "What size Generator do I need?"
You can figure out your power needs by using the following table of values and our power calculator
and conversion calculations for kW to kVA and kW to HP.
(Figures in temperature and elevation correction for power consumption needs) | Ohm's Law
Power Calculator
Add up the normal and surge wattage for the following appliances to get your watts required from a generator. | Device | Typical wattage | Surge Wattage | | Light bulb | 60 watts | 60 watts surge | | Fan | 75 watts | 150 watts surge | | Small black/white television | 100 watts | 150 watts surge | | Color television | 300 watts | 400 watts surge | | Home computer and monitor | 400 watts | 600 watts surge | | Electric blanket | 400 watts | 400 watts surge | | Microwave oven | 750 watts | 1,000 watts surge | | Furnace fan | 750 watts | 1,500 watts surge | | Refrigerator | 1,200 watts | 2,400 watts surge | | Well pump | 2,400 watts | 3,600 watts surge | | Electric water heater | 4,500 watts | 4,500 watts surge | | Whole-house A/C or heat pump | 15,000 watts | 30,000 watts surge |
1000 watts = 1 kilowatt (kW)
Don't forget about surge protectors for your sensitive appliances like TV and computers!
Discussion on KVA vs KWKVA was discovered to deal with reactive losses vs. true power consumed by the work device absorbing the energy produced by the source. Inductive and capacitive (reactive) losses absorb and use power also, but to get a true power measurement, a power factor is employed. A power factor of one (or Unity) is desired as that makes true power equal to apparent power. In the real world, there are losses from reactive power that have to be considered in big reactive loads. Smaller loads and purely resistive loads are inconsequential for this consideration. This is the reason many and most generator manufacturers go by kVA which is the power the generator delivers regardless of a load.
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