How this planner works
The planner uses the same sizing method as our generator size calculator: it adds typical running watts for the essentials you select, allows for the largest motor starting, and adds headroom. Lighting is estimated from the size of the home, and the air-conditioning load assumes a window unit for a small home and central air for larger homes. The fuel figure is what a gasoline generator would use running continuously for the whole period at about half the running load, which most households can cut sharply by running the generator for a few hours at a time.
Using the checklist
Print the plan and keep it with your generator. Work through the checklist before storm season rather than during it, and test-run the generator under load so that the first start is not in the dark. For the full preparation list, see our power outage checklist, and for the rules that keep people alive, generator safety.
