Generator sizing has two numbers and most buying guides only give you one. Running watts keeps a load going. Starting watts gets it moving. A generator that comfortably runs your refrigerator all day may stall the moment the compressor kicks in.
Add the running watts of everything that must stay on, then add only the single largest starting surge on top. Motors rarely start at the same moment, and sizing as though they do buys a generator far bigger than you need.
Sizing for every appliance
[hed_gen_index]The mistake that kills people
Running a cord from a generator into a wall outlet, sometimes called a suicide cord, backfeeds electricity into the house wiring and out to the utility line. Line crews working on what they believe is a dead circuit have been killed this way. A transfer switch or breaker interlock, installed by an electrician, is the only correct connection.
The second common error is carbon monoxide. Generators must run outdoors, well away from windows and never in a garage, even an open one. CO from a portable generator kills people every storm season.