What Size Generator Do I Need For A 3 Bedroom House?

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If you’re looking for a generator, you might be wondering what size is best for a 3 bedroom house.

It all depends on the number of people in your house, how often you’ll need to run it and what you’re trying to power during the outage.

Before getting the answer to what size generator you need, you must know how many watts does your three-bedroom house need.

What Size Generator Do I Need For A 3 Bedroom House?

A typical 3 bedroom house uses about 3,000 watts if you are not using any major appliances such as the dryer and air condition. If you use both of these at the same time your house will need about 6,000 watts.

Based On Family Members

As you always don’t run all the appliances at a time, you can just keep an eye on running watts before buying a generator. Below we have added the major appliances you can use at a time at your limited power generator.

Based On Major Appliances

Easily Calculate Your Wattage

Manually Calculate Your Appliences Wattage

Above we keep it simple for you. Also, you can do it manually to keep it most accurate. This is not quite as difficult a question to answer as it seems.

The first thing that we need to do is work out what the current usage in watts is for all of the electrical appliances in your house, add them up and then add another 30% on top for unplanned use, (e.g. refrigerator compressor kicking in.)

Now you have the wattage that the appliances in your house use when operating.

Read More: What Size Generator To Run 5 Ton AC Unit?

How Many Amps Will The Appliances In My House Use?

Now we need to know how many amps each appliance uses so that we can calculate what size generator we will need for our 3 bedroom house.

We can get this information from the manufacturer of each appliance.

Note: the following list is some examples to give you an idea of what kind of usage there is, add up your appliances and look online for their amps requirements.

Air Conditioner (10 – 15 amps) – 3 bedroom house will need around a 16kW generator

Dishwasher (3 – 4 amps) – 1.5kW generator will cover this

Refrigerator (1 amp) – 30 Amp generator will be fine for a 3 bedroom house

We can now calculate the total load from your appliances using the following formula: Appliance Total Load/(2 x Amps [If 120 Volts]) = Generator Size Needed To Run Appliances

The answer for our 3 bedroom house will be: (16+1.5+30)/2 = 18.25kW

Generator Size Needed To Operate 3 Bedroom House: 1 x 30 – 50 Amp Generator Or 2 x 15 – 20 Amp Generators

So, we know that our final load is 18.25kW but how do we work out what size generator to run this load on.

Well, the first thing that we need is a way of converting our required wattage into something else, so for ease of working with figures, we will convert all our watts into kilo volts (kV).

The formula below will give us the kV requirements for our 3 bedroom house:

Also, it is no good to just have the kV range required but not knowing how much of that we will need for each load.

To find out this information we use an equation called P = V2/R, (Power = Voltage x Current).

This can be used in any combination e.g. 0.5A at 120V = 12 Watt, which is the same as saying 12/0.5Kilowatts (K).

Now we have two equations to work with 1) V2 x I R and 2) P = V2/R Now if a load requires 15kV and 3 amps this can be calculated by using both equations like this: 15 x 3 = 45 or 452/3 = 150K Now we have an equation that will tell us how many kilo watts (kW) the load requires.

>> What size generator to power a furnace?

What Size Generator Do I Need For A 3 Bedroom House?

If a load has a high requirement for kV and a low current of amps i.e. 0.5A, then we can use the equation 15 x 0.5 = 7.5 or 750/0.5 = 1KW Now we have an equation that will tell us how many kilowatts (kW) the load requires so a 30Amp 220V circuit is needed to run this load.

So basically we need a 3600 watts generator to run a 3 bedroom house.

The formula is 30 amps X 120 volts = 3,600 watts.

>> What generator size for electric pressure washer?

4 Best Generators For a 3 Bedroom House

1. Generac iQ3500-3500 Watt Portable Inverter Generator

Generac, known to be a leader in portable generators, has recently launched Generac iQ Series.

Perfect for home emergency power needs and RVing. It is considered as the world’s quietest generator when used in Eco-mode.

The advantage of the Generac IQ 3500W Portable Inverter Generator is the touchscreen interface, which displays the operating information in an easy-to-read format.

Generac IQ3500 delivers quieter, smoother and more reliable performance with its ultra quiet engine design (40% quieter than Honda) thanks to a 4 pole alternator, plus it is equipped with a Total Harmonic Distortion of less than 3%.

This generator also features Diamond Fused Technology which will deliver the ultimate in overload protection, ensuring more starting power when you need it most.

Generac IQ3500 is designed to handle up to a 3.0 kW electric start/inverter generator transfer switch; plus, it has an outstanding fuel economy of 5 hours on 1.1 gallons of gas at 50% load.

This generator weighs 109.1 pounds, which is actually lighter than the Honda EU2000iS.

This Generac IQ3500 portable inverter generator provides enough power to supply you with sufficient electricity during the power outage or blackouts in your home, RV or job site.

With its power inverter, you don’t need to connect it to a transfer panel.

Generac IQ3500 is designed for simple operation with an electric start/run/stop button and an eco-mode switch.

Also, it has an electric recoil start system and a wheel kit for easy portability. It runs at 120 volts and can run almost 300 hours on a gallon of gas at a 25% load.

2. Westinghouse iGen4500 Super Quiet Portable Inverter Generator

If you are looking for a good generator that will power up your bedroom, store, office and even your house in case of an emergency, then this Westinghouse iGen4500 Super Quiet Portable Inverter Generator is the perfect one.

The Westinghouse iGen4500 Super Quiet Portable Inverter Generator is rated for 4500 watts continuous power (4000 watts surge rating), 3700 running watts at less than 3% THD in normal mode.

It’s Auto Idle Control System saves fuel and reduces wear. It features an easy to start system with outstanding noise reduction.

So you don’t need to worry about waking up anyone when using it in your bedroom at night.

An LED data display allows you to monitor and control features such as hour meter, low oil warning, voltmeter, overload and high temperature protection. It also comes with a recoil system for safety during startup.

This generator is powered by a 3.4 gallon tank that offers up to 18 hours of run time at 50% load. With its heavy duty handle, it is easy to carry and transport.

It has an electric start with a key for safety.

It also features reconditioned parts and top of the line technology which guarantees that you’ll be enjoying its outstanding performance for many years to come.

Just take note that the led data center will display “no fuel” when the tank is empty.

Many of its users have commented that it can power up their bedroom and even the whole house for emergencies.

It’s also proved to be an excellent choice if you plan to use it on a camping trip.

It is also user friendly as it only weighs 92 pounds and can be carried around easily. It’s gas-powered and does not need any electricity to operate.

It has a locking mechanism for the gas tank which provides safety while carrying it around.

This generator is also best for people who live in areas that are prone to natural disasters.

Even if the power goes out, you can get your computer running again as long as you have this Westinghouse generator to help you out.

It is a good alternative source of power in case your home gets affected during bad weather, which can knock out all your electronics and appliances which are connected to the main grid.

It will also make sure that you have some light so that you can go about looking for medical supplies if it turns out that someone gets hurt in the process.

Even if you plan to use it for recreational purposes, this Westinghouse generator is still perfect for you.

It provides clean and quiet power that doesn’t interfere with your electronics or household appliances, which makes it an ideal companion for those who are interested in camping out.

3. WEN GN6000 6000-Watt Portable Generator

Wen GN6000 Portable Generator is perfect for emergency and power outages.

It is small in size and you can carry it anywhere easily. As this model works on a 4-stroke engine, the noise level generated by it will be less as compared to that of 2 stroke engines.

Durable construction and reasonable price are two main factors that make people buy this portable generator.

If you have a limited budget then don’t go for any other product as Wen GN6000 will satisfy your requirements completely.

The noise level generated by it is satisfactory, so using it in the bedroom is possible.

One more important factor that makes this generator popular is its portability as it is compact in size and designed with wheels that make moving from one place to another easier and convenient.

It can easily be carried while you are traveling or on camping trips. You don’t have to worry about power cuts during such trips.

This reliable and handy power generator is perfect for you in these situations.

The engine of this machine runs smoothly and delivers the required power.

Moreover, it has an eco-friendly design that makes it environment-friendly with no emission of harmful gases.

So using this device will not harm our environment or cause any hazard to the surroundings. It has been certified to meet California Energy Commission standards.

This 6000 starting watts and 5000 running watts Portable Generator is safe to use and durable in construction.

It has a 3.4 gallon fuel tank which provides up to 7.5 hours of runtime at half load with comfortable noise levels for sleeping, study or leisure purposes.

You can enjoy the power from this generator while sitting outside your house in a small garden as it is designed with a wheel kit and handle kit that makes transporting easy.

The major highlights of this portable generator are: It has a 4-stroke engine that generates low noise level.

It is manufactured to provide you long lasting service. Since it features Eco friendly design, using it will not lead to any environmental hazards.

This generator has 3.4 gallon fuel tank capacity that provides 7.5 hours of runtime at half load and 50% noise level.

It also features wheels and handles for easy transportation from one place to another.

4. Pulsar PG7500 Portable Gas-Powered Generator with Electric Start

Pulsar PG7500 gas powered generator is a great unit to have in your home.

Its features make it a convenient and useful addition even if you don’t need an extra power supply. It is also compact so you can easily carry it anywhere with ease.

The Pulsar PG7500 Portable Gas-Powered Generator is a powerful gas generator which contributes up to 6,000 watts/7,500 starting watts output.

It is loaded with a maintenance free battery and has a built-in electric starter in case you need it.

There’s no need to hassle yourself by pulling the recoil cord when starting this powerful generator.

Speaking about the power supply, the Pulsar PG7500 Portable Gas-Powered Generator gives out a total of 6 outlets.

Out of these 6, 4 are 120 volts, 1 is 120V twist-lock outlet, and the remaining is 120v/240 volts twist lock.

You can charge several appliances at the same time without any problem thanks to this impressive feature.

It also includes a Digital Meter which helps you monitor your power supply capacity. So you know whether it is already time to add more fuel or not.

For continuous operation, the Pulsar PG7500 Portable Gas-Powered Generator has a fuel tank capacity of 6.6 gallons which allows it to run for up to 13 hours on ½ load.

This is made possible through the use of its 4 strokes, air-cooled engine which operates at 3600 RPMs.

It has an agreeable weight of 184 pounds, which makes it easy to carry or transport.

With dimensions of 32 x 23 x 21 inches, carrying it should not be a problem even for the physically challenged.

Enclosed in the Pulsar PG7500 package are the unit itself, manual book, tool kit, and 100% pure gasoline with a stabilizer as well as a funnel that you can use when adding fuel.

This gas powered generator is for you if you are looking for an economical and easy way to power your appliances during power outages or brownouts without the hassle of starting up a complex diesel generator that needs some initial tune-up and regular maintenance.

Since it is portable, it does not require any special permits to operate, you can just keep it in your garage or perhaps inside the attic and use it only when needed.

Other than power outages, this generator is also great for camping, outdoor events such as picnics and parties where electricity supply may be limited or not available at all.

This unit will definitely come in handy to provide a good power supply for all your basic needs such as charging your cell phones, laptops, TVs and so on. It is also a great generator for people who need electricity in remote areas.

FAQs

Final Verdict

Before you buy a generator, make sure to calculate how much power your home needs. You should also take into account the size of the unit and where it will be stored at different stages in its life cycle.

Our blog post provides an easy-to-understand guide on what size generator is right for your 3 bedroom house. We hope that this has been informative! If not or if you have any questions, feel free to contact us anytime.