what size home standby generator do i need
â¢ Extra Peak Power (or startup watts) is the extra wattage required for appliances at startup or when they are. running at their highest levels of power consumption. An average size home requires from 5000 to 7000 watts to power essential items. Step 1: To determine your needs, total the watts for the items you would like to run simultaneously. provides you with the number of continuous or running watts your generator must supply.
If you use an undersized cord, you can potentially damage the generator and appliances. For example, the most common size for generator use is 14, 12 and 10 gauge. The smaller the gauge number, the thicker the cord and the more electricity it can carry. Extension cords have several other drawbacks. First, most extension cords can't be plugged into a furnace, well pump, or ceiling-light fixture.