At the same time, based on the wattage level, you will also get the increased size. Charles W. St.Clair has been writing professionally since 2003. A homeowner is likely to have either a small, portable generator or a whole-house generator. Volts x Amps = Watts 120V x 5A = 600 Watts. Why did so many concrete block homes collapse in Mexico Beach during Hurricane Michael? A 5,000 watt generator is capable of running small kitchen appliances, such as a microwave, toaster oven and coffee maker, as long as the total amount of wattage being used does not exceed 5,000 watts. Some generators list their surge rating in big numbers on the side of the generator, when the actual continuous output is much less. Well, this guide will answer your question. Your unit may have different ratings. For a 10,000 BTU window air conditioner, the approximate starting wattage is 2200 watts, and the approximate running wattage is 1500 watts. With 5000 watts generator, you can manage all the recreational appliances like RV air conditioner of 15000 BTU. © McGarry and Madsen. In order to determine if our generator will run our air conditioner, we need to look for the power consumption specifications of the appliance itself. It has a very high Energy Star rating of 12.2. Each unit will also require a certain number of "running watts," which will be lower (sometimes significantly) than the start-up watts needed. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •. He lives in Oakland, Calif., working as an electrician and carpenter. • Why did so many concrete block homes collapse in Mexico Beach during Hurricane Michael? a 5000 btu a/c runs about 4 or 5 amps. These include a refrigerator and freezer, sump pump, furnace, window air conditioner, and light circuits. A typical portable generator for emergency use by a homeowner might be rated 4000 to 7500 W. Whole-house standby models typically are rated 25,000 W or higher. Amperage (A) varies from unit to unit. If your home has a smaller furnace and city water, you can generally expect that 3000-5000 watts will cover your needs. Wattage (W) is the basic unit of measurement for electric power. What Appliances Can Be Connected to a Portable Generator? Also, construction methods and materials vary in different parts of the country and it is possible that important issues related to your area may not be covered here. The actual volts present at the outlet depends on a number of factors, including the electrical utility, and the length and size of the cable feeding the outlet. Also, see our blog posts Which trees are most likely to fall over on your house in a hurricane? For most homes, it won’t be possible to run a central heating or air conditioning with just a 5,000-watt generator. © Copyright 2020 Hearst Communications, Inc. Homeowners can often power most household appliances using between 3000 and 6500 watts. Here’s listing of average wattage of appliances that will run on a small to mid-size portable generator for calculating your total load. There are generators for just about any situation. Sometimes only the amperage is listed. • How much hurricane wind speed can a mobile home survive? It is a common problem that the generators have to be oversized a lot, just for starting. How Many Appliances Can a 5000-Watt Generator Run? What size generator, 1000 to 2000 watt, do you need to run a small window air conditioner, 5000 to 6500 btu? An average 5-ton air conditioner (with 10 EER rating) will run on 6,000 W. 6,000 W Generator For 5 Ton AC Unit. If the power goes out during the Super Bowl, you can use it for your new flat-screen TV, but aim at 50 percent or less of the generator's peak load for everything you're powering. However, you can reasonably expect that a properly installed duplex receptacle on a 120-V circuit has between 110 and 125 volts present. That’s a lot of power. 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