Should you buy an inverter generator? It all depends on how you plan to use it and, ultimately, your willingness to pay more for better performance.
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As with a traditional portable generator, an inverter generator can power your home appliances and electronics when the electricity goes out. You set it up the same way, too, using gasoline as fuel and safely positioning it at least 20 feet from your home—never indoors—with the exhaust pointing away from your dwelling to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.
An inverter generator electronically throttles the engine to meet demand, making it more efficient and quieter than a portable generator that runs full tilt the whole time. “An inverter generator only ramps up as high as it needs to,” says David Trezza, the Consumer Reports engineer who oversees our generator testing.
To help you make better sense of your size options, we break our inverter generator ratings into four groups:
Large Inverter Generators
Most large inverter generators in our ratings weigh from about 150 to about 300 pounds (wheels included). That’s too heavy to haul along on a camping trip or to a tailgate party, but it’s big enough to power your house. These models generate 5,000 watts or more.
The largest inverter generators have 220v outlets that can be connected directly to your electrical panel with a safety device called a transfer switch, which CR strongly recommends. That allows the generator to power entire circuits in your home rather than requiring you to plug in individual appliances and electronics with extension cords.
Midsized Inverter Generators
Midsized inverter generators weigh 80 pounds or more and may or may not come with wheels. They produce 2,500 to 5,000 watts, but you can’t connect them directly to your electrical panel with a transfer switch because they lack 220v connections. That means you can’t use them to power equipment such as a water heater or a well pump. Instead, you plug appliances or electronics directly into the generator, which is less convenient.
This size is well suited for tailgaters or users of recreational vehicles. These models put out all the power you need for plug-in appliances like a toaster or microwave, and they’re light enough to unload and carry away to a safe distance from your vehicle or RV before use.
Small Inverter Generators
Small inverter generators weigh 50 to 60 pounds and generate 1,500 to 2,500 watts. That’s enough to be a steady source of basic backup power for a fridge, some lights, and a charger—but not much else. These units can’t be connected to a circuit breaker panel or used to power any hardwired device that doesn’t have a standard two- or three-prong plug.
Many small recreational inverter models have user-friendly features such as fuel-level indicators; some have wheels. They’re designed to be carried with one hand.
Compact Inverter Generators
Compact inverter generators weigh 30 to 40 pounds and produce around 1,000 watts, enough power for light-duty tailgating or camping. These units lack convenience features like fuel gauges or standard wheels.
Because they’re small and light, they’re designed for convenient, one-hand carrying. But they still can’t be brought inside safely. “Even a smaller generator can emit hazardous levels of CO in an enclosed space, so make sure you get a unit with CO safety technology and follow placement guidelines,” Trezza says.
Whether an inverter generator is worth buying depends on how—and how often—you plan to use it. If you just want a generator to power household appliances during short power outages, a portable generator will likely work fine and save you some money.
But if your power outages tend to be several days long, the efficiency of an inverter means you won’t have to fill up the gas tank as often. That could be useful if fuel becomes scarce after an emergency. An inverter generator also produces lower emissions than a conventional model, though you still need to take the same safety precautions by running one outdoors and well away from any dwelling.
Similarly, most household appliances will work just fine on the power from a conventional generator. But some medical equipment can be sensitive to the quality of the power or even be damaged by dips and spikes in voltage. An inverter generator tends to deliver power that’s “cleaner,” with more consistent voltage, which is reflected in the power quality test in our ratings. All of the recommended models have earned our highest score for power quality, while some of the conventional generators that we recommend score slightly below that.
Finally, the noise difference between an inverter generator and a portable generator can be significant. “Inverter generators are generally quiet enough not to drown out nearby conversation,” Trezza says. Many inverter models in Consumer Reports’ generator ratings earn a very good or even an excellent score for noise, making them especially useful if you plan to use your generator for camping or tailgating. In contrast, most portable generators we test have middling scores for noise—or worse.
Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is a serious risk with all portable generators that aren’t used properly, and inverter generators are no different. Like portable generators, inverter generators should only be used outside in an unenclosed area, at least 20 feet from your home, with the exhaust port pointing away from your dwelling.
To further reduce the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, many portable generators feature a built-in sensor that triggers an automatic shutoff if CO builds up to dangerous levels in an enclosed space, while others have an engine that emits less CO in the first place.
The bottom line is inverter generators are not inherently safer than portable generators. While only portable and inverter generators with automatic CO shutoff earn our recommendation—regardless of how well the model performs otherwise—you’ll still want to observe safety precautions like with any other generator.
A whole-house generator is the ultimate safety net in a power outage. Unlike a portable or even a basic home standby generator, a whole-house generator can back up not only your essentials but even some nonessentials, making it feel like an outage never happened.
Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about whole-house generators, their features and capabilities, and how to pick and size them.
Browse Whole House GeneratorsOne of the biggest questions we receive is, "What's the difference between a home standby and a whole house generator?"
Whole-House Generator Benefits:
Standard home standbys are capable of powering smaller homes with a kilowatt (kW) range from 9kW to 20kW. They have smaller, air-cooled engines that provide short-term power to mission-critical items like an air conditioner, sump pump, and refrigerator in addition to some lighting, but aren't well-suited for powering everything at once, backing up larger homes, or running for extended periods of time.
Whole-house generators, on the other hand, range in capacity anywhere from 22 to 48kW. The added power brings you peace of mind, knowing you won't have to sacrifice or make difficult choices like choosing whether to run a single air conditioner or a large commercial-style refrigerator. Instead, your house will be close to fully functional, as if nothing happened at all.
Whole-house generators offer many benefits over the typical standby generator. They feature larger, more powerful engines that are liquid-cooled for longer run times without maintenance, sophisticated programming for better load management, and provide better fuel options like natural gas, liquid propane, and diesel.
All whole-house generators produce heat as they generate electricity. This heat needs to be removed to prevent overheating and permanent damage to the engine. Two options exist for this: cooling via air and cooling via liquid.
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Liquid-cooled generators cool by using a liquid coolant. This coolant, usually a combination of water and antifreeze, flows around the engine and absorbs the heat. A pump moves this heated coolant to a radiator, which releases the heat outside and circles back to remove more heat.
Air-Cooled Generator Advantages and Disadvantages
Air-cooled generators are less expensive, lighter, and easier to install than liquid-cooled generators. They are an effective, budget-friendly option in moderate or cooler climates.
However, air does not absorb heat as effectively or consistently as water, so air-cooled generators are limited in their power output, typically accommodating only up to 26 kW. Air-cooled generators also do not handle excessively hot climates like the Southwest very well.
Liquid-Cooled Generator Advantages and Disadvantages
Liquid-cooled generators absorb heat much more effectively and can handle significantly higher power outputs than air-cooled generators, even as high as 150 kW or more. They work well in all climates.
Their major downside is their complexity, which results in higher upfront and installation costs. For many residential homes, a liquid-cooled whole-house generator would be considered “overkill,” although more and more homeowners are opting for them, especially in areas prone to power outages.
Who Should Get an Air-Cooled vs Liquid-Cooled Generator?
One size never fits all when it comes to generators, so here are some suggestions on who should get an air-cooled vs liquid-cooled model.
Air-cooled whole-house generators are best for:
Liquid-cooled whole-house generators are best for:
In many coastal and remote parts of the country, finding an abundant fuel source necessary for power generation can be problematic.
In fact, an essential step in selecting the best standby for your home is identifying the fuel type. Unlike small home standbys that can only use natural gas (NG) or liquid propane (LP), whole-house generators also come with a diesel option, which makes generator power more accessible.
Both LP and diesel fuels will require tanks large enough to run the generator correctly. Similarly, the natural gas meter and gas lines will need to be the correct size. Before installation, your contractor will verify this with you, but you can find this information in the installation manual on our product pages.
Proper sizing of your generator is crucial to the success of any installation and requires a good working knowledge of electricity, as well as the load requirements of your home's electrical appliances.
When analyzing electrical loads, look at the manufacturer’s data plate on each major appliance or piece of equipment to determine its starting amperage.
Next, use the following formula to help determine the total starting wattage of all of your appliances: (Starting Amps x Volts = Watts). To get kilowatts, divide the number of watts by 1,000.
When choosing the generator output, select a rating that is approximately 20 to 25% higher than the peak load (for example, if the total expected wattage is about 22 kilowatts, choose a 27 kW generator).
A higher-rated generator will operate comfortably at approximately 80% of its full capacity and will provide a margin of flexibility if the load increases in the future.
The most significant wattage draw will come from central air conditioning units. To determine an air conditioner's size in "tons,", just divide the number of BTUs by 12,000 (Tons = BTUs/12,000). For example, a single 5 Ton Unit is equal to 60,000 BTUs.
Size Your GeneratorWhole-House Size Options
All standby generators are rated by kilowatt (kW) (1 kW = 1,000 watts), which measures the capacity or total load that the generator can handle.
For homeowners wanting the ultimate entry-level whole-house standby, a 22kW is a perfect choice to reap all of the benefits of a whole-house generator over a regular home standby.
A generator in the 27-36kW range is perfect for most homes since it replaces 75% of the 200 amps coming into your electrical panel. Since these generators are equipped with advanced load-managing hardware, like A/C shedding, you will hardly notice that the air conditioners kick on at different times, so they don't overload the system.
If you want to back up the entire house as if a blackout never occurred, a 48kW generator is capable of producing a whopping 220 amps of electricity at 240 volts, which is nearly the same amount of power coming from the utility.
Just like a light bulb needs a switch to turn on, your generator needs one too. An automatic transfer switch (ATS) allows your standby to spring into action the moment a power failure is detected.
It does this by continuously sensing utility power, and after an outage is detected, it simultaneously starts the engine and disconnects electricity coming from the line before energizing your home's panel through generator power.
Getting the right switch is just as crucial as getting the right generator, as they work together to restore lost power. To know which will work for you, you'll need to know the amperage of your electrical service panel. You can check this by locating the main breaker in your electrical panel (usually the big pull-out at the top).
Typically, the average-sized home has a 200-amp main breaker, so the maximum amount of electricity it can consume is 200 amps. It's essential to get the same amperage switch as your home's panel. If you have 200-amp service, you'll need a 200-amp transfer switch.
Now that you know how to pick the perfect whole-house standby generator, you can be confident that your home will be protected against power outages of every kind. You no longer have to feel vulnerable during the next blackout; instead, you'll become the superhero who saves the day!
If you need help, please contact us at 800-800-. We now also offer professional standby generator installation in select U.S. markets, taking the burden of finding a qualified installer off your shoulders and guaranteeing a job well done.
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