Generator for Your House

Choosing a generator for house backup comes down to three decisions: how many watts you need, what fuel makes sense for your home, and what a fair installed price looks like. This site exists to answer those three questions about the generator for house decision with published data instead of brand marketing - our generator size calculator runs on Champion Power Equipment's official appliance wattage chart, and every guide cites its sources.

If you are just starting, the fastest path is: size your load with the calculator, check how many outage hours your state averages to decide how much generator for house backup you need, then compare the specific models in your size class.

Every generator for house guide starts with watts, and watts are consumed by appliances, not square footage. The two numbers that matter are running watts (the continuous load) and starting watts (the momentary surge when a motor - a fridge compressor, a well pump, a central AC - kicks on, typically two to three times its running draw).

For a typical gas-heated 2,000 sq ft home, the essentials stack (furnace fan, refrigerator, freezer, sump pump, internet, lighting) sums to roughly 4,000-5,500 running watts with a surge near 7,000 - which is why the 7,500W dual-fuel class is the best-selling whole house generator segment. All-electric homes and houses with central AC jump quickly into the 16-22kW whole house generator range. The calculator handles both numbers plus altitude derating (about 3% output loss per 1,000 ft).

Standby generators run on natural gas or propane. Natural gas means unlimited runtime with zero fuel handling, but requires a gas line with enough meter capacity. Propane stores indefinitely and works anywhere, but needs a tank sized for your outage expectations. For generator for house use with a portable, dual-fuel has become the default recommendation: propane eliminates the fuel-degradation problem that makes gasoline miserable to store.

Whole house generator fuel tradeoffs, costs, and tank sizing are covered in the standby vs portable comparison.

Most whole house generator installs run $6,000-$12,000 all-in: the unit is roughly half, with the transfer switch, electrical work, gas connection, and pad making up the rest. A portable generator for house essentials plus a switch runs $2,000-$3,500. Installation quotes for identical jobs vary by thousands between shops, so three bids compared line by item is the single biggest money-saver in the process.

The full whole house generator cost breakdown - including the gas meter upgrade most buyers discover too late - is in our generator cost guide.

In the whole house generator market, Generac dominates the standby side with the densest dealer network and the widest range (7.5kW PowerPact up to 26kW Guardian). Kohler competes at 14-26kW on build quality and coastal corrosion resistance. Champion is the value leader - its 12.5-14kW standby packages and dual-fuel portables undercut the majors meaningfully. Briggs & Stratton rounds out the field with strong warranties on its PowerProtect line. We compare each generator for house model in the comparison table and in dedicated Generac, Kohler, and Champion guides.