Posted: 12/5/2007 6:25:52 PM EDT
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I realize there is a lot that goes into getting a generator, but can I get a ball park idea of how big I would need to run a gas forced air furnace, a gas w/electric exhust and a sump pump? They are all located in the same area so I thought I could plug them all in to it if I loose power. or would I be better to wire it in to my home wiring and then just limit what I use if I loose power? If so how big do I need? |
I'm going to guess about 5500 watt to 6500 watt. Probably would be able to get by with less but that would give you some spare capacity to run some lights and so forth. I have a 6500 watt unit and I plan to run everything in an all electric house. I should be able to run everything in the house...somewhat staggered....except for the heat pump. I'd guess that 5500 watt would be pretty safe unless you want to have a little more spare capacity. |
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The best way to do that is to set a new panel for all the essential items you need running in the home. That means your regular panel has those essential circuits moved to the new panel with a transfer switch tied to the generator. Figure out the maximum load you need for your emergency power/essential circuits, then buy a generator that will carry 125% of that load. A few lights, refrigerator, electric fan in a central air handling unit for heat - forget air conditioning, and a few plugs to power TV, radio, etc. - usually a 6 KW generator is plenty. |
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I bet your furnace is 220 and your other stuff is 110. Best thing to do, but not the cheapest, is to get your panel wired in for an extra 220 plug and then have that run into your genset with a cutoff switch and a fuse. You don't want to run your genset over 50-60% load for long durations. |
guess,guess,guess........you don't want to guess with something like this. DO the calculations, find out how much power you're drawing now, and how much you want to power up during an outage. fridges and freezers don't have to run all the time, nor do all the lights need to be on. you can install some DC lighting,also, and run from an inverter. |
My statement is based on the idea that I don't know much about his particular applications that he wants to run. I can tell you based on MY calculations in MY house that 6500 watts is about right. |
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There is a thing called non-coincidental loads, meaning you won't run your electric resistance heater at the same time you'll run your air conditioning. When you have two loads that you won't use at the same time, then figure the biggest load of the two in your calculations for a generator. |
when you look at generators pay attention to the continuous output and surge output. some cheaper brands will advertise the surge capacity w/ the continuous capacity in smaller print. if you cover the needed surge capacity of all the large items you plan to use that use a lot of watts to start and add in the other items, e.g., lights, tv, etc., then you should be fairly safe b/c it's not likely that all will kick on at the same time, but if they did you'd be covered. bottom line buy the biggest you can afford b/c as somebody mentioned above you don't want to run the generator maxed out all of the time. |