- Add up the total of all wattage or amperage of appliances you need to supply with power.
- What phase do you need
- Single Phase
- Three phase
- Determine the Voltage required.
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- 120 Volts
- 240 Volts
- 480 Volts
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- How much runtime does your project require
- 8 hour runtime
- 12 hour runtime
- 24 hour runtime
- What is fuel capacity
- What is the fuel consumption rate based on load
- 50% Load – 2 Gallons per hour
- 60% Load -3 Gallons per hour
- 70% Load – 4 Gallons per hour
- 80% Load – 5 Gallons per hour
Use a generator amp chart to determine how many amps are available at different voltages for each size of generator .
- Resistive loads: Wattage = amperes x volts
- Reactive loads: Wattage = amperes x volts x load factor
- If you do not know your load factor, it is the ratio of electric energy use in kilowatt-hours to peak demand in kilowatts. Using information from your electric bill, you can calculate the load factor by using the formula:
- Previous month’s total kWh / (current period peak demand x 30 days x 24 hours)