Trying to decide what size Honda Generator you need? Power management is a great way to maximize the efficiency of your Honda Generator. Using power management can help you to:
- Use a smaller, less expensive generator to meet your needs
- Use the generator more efficiently
Power management works because of one simple concept: it is not necessary to power everything at the same time. Switching from one appliance to another will help to minimize the amount of power needed.
Consider:
- What is most important to power?
- Does it have to be run continuously?
- Don’t try to run everything at once.
For instance, let’s say you are using a generator to power your home. You want to run some lights, a refrigerator, a furnace, a television, and a microwave.
Appliance | Starting Wattage | Running Wattage |
---|---|---|
Refrigerator | 1600 | 200 |
Furnace (1/4 hp fan) | 1600 | 600 |
5 Lights | 300 | 300 |
TV | 300 | 300 |
Microwave | 1500 | 1500 |
Total | 5300 | 2900 |
If you only look at the total watts, you might think you need at 5300-watt generator to power your home. But that’s not really the case.
-
Start appliances with high starting wattage requirements at different times.
In our example, if you start the refrigerator and the furnace at separate times, you don’t need 3200 watts of power – only 1600.
-
If an appliance is only being used occasionally for short periods, run it by itself.
Turn off the fridge and furnace for a few minutes while you use the microwave – a small tradeoff like this saves you 1500 watts.
-
Consider how willing you are to turn less important appliances off.
If you don’t mind turning off the lights and TV, you can use a smaller model. But if you don’t want the hassle, opt for a larger generator.
Let’s look at our example again:
Continuous Power Need | |
---|---|
Running fridge |
200 |
Running furnace |
600 |
5 lights |
300 |
TV |
300 |
Total |
1400 |
Occasional Power Need | |
---|---|
Starting fridge |
1600 |
Starting furnace |
1600 |
Microwave |
1500 |
Max |
1600 |
In this case, a 3000-watt generator would be able to run everything easily. And you don’t need to sacrifice a thing.
Of course, you can get away with as little as 1600 watts – if you are willing to run the furnace and fridge at separate times, and turn off the TV and lights when you start up one or both of these larger appliances.
Honda Generators: Automatic power management made easy with an HP2S System
Don’t want to mess with turning things on and off? Opt for an HP2S system. Honda’s HP2S system makes power management automatic. The transfer switch can automatically adjust your power needs so you never have to worry about overloading the generator. Read here for additional info on generator safety tips.
In fact, the HP2S system increases your generator’s efficiency by 20 to 50% – just from effective use of power management. Visit the power generator experts at Foreman’s General Store today to help you determine the right size Honda Generators to meet your needs.