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Know Your Power Priorities

When the power goes out, a generator can keep your house warm in winter or cool in summer; it can keep your food cold, your kitchen cooking, and your computers and phones charging. Assuming you have one.

People tend to buy generators around major storms, when they’re prone to making a desperate decision—without a plan for what to do when they get it home. Working by flashlight, in a rush to get the power up and running, they might skip over critical safety steps during setup. And people die every year from carbon monoxide poisoning related to generators.

We don’t want you—or anyone relying on a generator—to be one of those people.

Power Up When the Power Is Down With the Best Generator
We test, evaluate, and compare the latest home generators to help you shop smart.
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Know Your Power Priorities
Generators are sold by power output, as measured in watts. The amount of power they deliver determines how many lights and appliances you can run at once; the quality and consistency of that power determines how well they'll run. Figure on about 5,000 watts to cover the basics in a typical home.

Start by making a list of what you don't want to go without while the power's down, then add up their watts to get you in the right ballpark. Here are some rough numbers for common essentials:

Refrigerator: 600 watts
Sump pump: 750 to 1,500 watts
enerator-power

Generators are sold by power output, as measured in watts. The amount of power they deliver determines how many lights and appliances you can run at once; the quality and consistency of that power determines how well they'll run. Figure on about 5,000 watts to cover the basics in a typical home.