![]() The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) code requires generators to be five feet or more away from openings such as doors and windows. The larger generators featured on our list are approximately 30 inches by 30 inches by 48 inches, while the smaller generators are closer to 24 inches by 24 inches by 36 inches. Whether you have a small yard or many acres of land, you’ll likely need the generator near your home, so the size and sound matter. Once you’ve figured out your power needs, the next two major considerations are the physical footprint of the generator and the amount of noise it makes. Trying to determine the size generator you’d need? If, for example, you wanted to power a window air conditioning unit, your immersion water heater and a microwave, you’d need a generator with a 10,000-watt output to be safe. NOTE: Some generators are listed by watt (W) and some by kilowatt (kW). household averages a minimum of 5,000 to 7,500 watts, so many generators are sold with 7,500 to 10,000-watt outputs. Add up the starting watts for each appliance, and multiply the total by 1.5 to create a margin of safety. ![]() If the starting watts are not listed, you can usually multiply the running watts by three. Many appliances will be labeled with “starting watts” and “running watts.” The former is the power draw when the appliance first turns on, while the latter is the draw once it’s running. You can also calculate this number yourself by finding the wattage rating label on each of your essential appliances. Many generator manufacturers have online wattage calculators to help you determine what size generator is the best fit for your home. Refrigerators, air conditioning, sump or well pumps, medical devices, electric water heaters and portable space heaters will likely have the highest power draw and be most essential during power outages. Plus, our advisory board of licensed professionals fact-checks and reviews our content for accuracy and relevancy.īefore buying any generator, you should determine the power requirements of your home and your most essential large electric appliances. We use data and expert advice to inform all of our content. Why you can trust Forbes Home: The Forbes Home team is committed to bringing you independent, unbiased ratings and information. All ratings are determined solely by the editorial team. Our ratings take into consideration factors like pricing at the time of scoring, customer rating, warranty, noise level, high-temperature shutdown, inclusion of automatic transfer switch, heat control, overload protection and low oil protection. We further pared our list down to the top five generators. We developed our list of the best home generators by first identifying competitors that met basic criteria, then reviewing the 16 most widely available generators from that list and scoring them all based on 34 different attributes. We’ve researched the top home generators of 2023 and ranked them based on an average cost, warranty, noise level and other factors to help you determine the best option for your home. Instead, the generator will automatically kick on to immediately take over powering your home. With a home generator, you don’t have to fuel up during emergencies or run long extension cords in the middle of the night or in pouring rain. Whether your home is prone to power outages due to extreme weather or because an ineffective electric utility has short-circuited, a home generator is a great choice for any homeowner who wants to be protected. ![]() While we work hard to provide accurate and up to date information that we think you will find relevant, Forbes Home does not and cannot guarantee that any information provided is complete and makes no representations or warranties in connection thereto, nor to the accuracy or applicability thereof. The compensation we receive from advertisers does not influence the recommendations or advice our editorial team provides in our articles or otherwise impact any of the editorial content on Forbes Home. Second, we also include links to advertisers’ offers in some of our articles these “affiliate links” may generate income for our site when you click on them. This site does not include all companies or products available within the market. The compensation we receive for those placements affects how and where advertisers’ offers appear on the site. First, we provide paid placements to advertisers to present their offers. This compensation comes from two main sources. To help support our reporting work, and to continue our ability to provide this content for free to our readers, we receive compensation from the companies that advertise on the Forbes Home site. The Forbes Home editorial team is independent and objective.
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