Are you thinking about buying a generator for your home? If so, you are in the right place.
Buying a generator is not that easy. You have to consider a lot of different factors to buy the right generator. This is important otherwise the generator may end up costing you a lot in the long run.
In this blog post we have listed some important tips that will help you in buying the right Huntsville generator for your home or office.
1. Know the Requirements
Before buying a generator, you should find to know your requirements. Do you want to buy a generator for leisure use, for home, or a business? How long do you intend to keep the load on the generator? What items will be powered by the generator?
Answers to the above questions will help you in finding out the correct type and wattage of the generator. It will ensure that you buy the right generator that is suited to your requirements.
2. Select the Right Type of Generator
Generators are of different types. Your requirements will determine what type of generator you should buy.
If you intend to power the home for up to 10 hours at a time, you should buy standby generators. On the other hand, if you want to power your generator for longer periods, you should go for Huntsville Prime Power generators.
Inverter generators are suitable if you intend to power sensitive equipment such as electronic appliances. For camping or other outdoor adventure, you should select a portable generator.
3. Select the Right Fuel Type
Fuel type is another consideration when buying a generator. You can buy either gasoline, diesel, propane or natural gas generators.
Diesel generators are the most fuel efficient. They also require less maintenance as compared to other generators. Also, they are the least flammable as compared to gasoline, propane, and gas generators. However, these generators tend to be louder.
Gasoline generators are less expensive than diesel generators. But these generators are not suitable for operating for long periods.
Propane is considered a cleaner fuel than diesel or gasoline. So, propane generators are less harmful to the environment. You can also store propane indefinitely unlike diesel or gasoline. However, propane is highly flammable and also propane generators are more expensive to operate.
Natural gas generators are cleaner as compared to all the other fuel types. However, it’s more flammable than all three. The price of gas is higher in some locations as well. Also, these generators tend to require a lot of repairs as compared to other generator types.
4. Select the Right Wattage
You must select a generator with the right wattage. The wattages are written in most electrical and electronic appliances. You can also measure the wattage of an appliance using a wattage meter.
Generators wattage typically start at 500 KW and goes up to 1 MW and even more. Typically, house and office generators range from 500 KW to 25 KW.
Here is estimated usage of some of the common appliances used inside the house.
| Appliance | Approximate Wattage |
| Vacuum Cleaner | 1000 to 2000 watts |
| Toaster | 1000 to 1600 watts |
| Water Motor | 500 to 2000 watts (operating) 1500 to 6000 watts (starting) |
| Air Conditioner | 1500 to 5000 watts |
| Electric Furnace | 18,000 watts |
| Water Heater | 3500 watts |
| Hair Dryer | 1800 watts |
| Fridge | 500 watts (operating) 1000 watts (starting) |
In the end, you should balance the cost and features of the generator. Features that you should consider in a generator include push start, circuit breakers, eco-throttle, automatic transfer, and handle and wheels. The amount of your budget will determine which type of generator will be useful for your home or office.