Wattage Wizard
Calculating your wattage needs is a little more complex than
simply adding up the rated watts, because appliances with
motors require a large surge of wattage to get started.
If you don't include surge wattage in your calculations, you
can underestimate your power output and possibly damage
your generator or appliances.
In most instances, appliances with motors rarely start
simultaneous. For example, a refrigerator and a furnace fan
may be running at the same time, but its unlikely that both
will start exactly at the same time.
Therefore, we calculated the difference between surge
(starting) and rated (running) watts of each item, then added
the surge watts of the highest differential to the rated watts
of the remaining items.
Based on these calculations, you would need a generator with
a surge (starting) wattage of at least 3875.
1 Disclaimer: This wattage selection guide should be
considered an estimating tool only. Check actual tools and
appliances wattage for a more detailed estimate.
