Quote Originally Posted by Balikpinoy View Post
For two straight afternoons, the power has gone kaput in our subdivision due to lightning strikes. With a 2 yr old and another baby on the way, I'd like purchase a generator.

How does one compute the required power specs? I'd like to power at least 2 lights, two electric fans and my Internet modems and router. Powering a 1hp AC would be nice but not required.

What should I be looking for and where?


Just add up all the power load you will want running on the generator. Include aircon, ref, lights, fans, computer, etc. Just compute the total amount in WATTS (or kilowatts).

ANyway, the heaviest power loads will be the aircon, ref ... assuming the aircon is 2hp (roughly 1,500 watts) and ref is 1hp (roughly 750 watts), just to power these you will need 2,250 watts. Given that, you could do with a 3KVA generator. (with extra power for your other stuff).


But you mentioned you only have a 1hp aircon plus lights, fans, router, and probably a PC. With that load, you could do with a 1KVA generator but I would suggest getting a 1.5KVA for that extra margin of power.