Back up generator for home and a/c?

It will run your a/c but not any other large appliances, maybe a TV but doubtful. We were in Hurricane Rita and were without power for 2-3 weeks, my 5000 watt ran a well pump by itself and had to disconnect to heat water, but ran a computer two fans and 2 lamps and tv at same time due to low startup wattage. Read the label or owners manual for more info. I did, however install a 15000 watt natural gas generator for a client, and it will run his 4 ton and stove at same time with most of his house on too, and the cost for the unit is only 1500 to 2100 more.

I have to laugh at most of these answers. No a 5k generator is not enough to run a whole house A/C. When the compressor starts up it can draw anywhere from 6-9 times the rated load. If you have that many outages where you need a generator you will want to size it according to te size of your electrical service. Do you want to power the whole house or only a portion? If so then you need a transfer switch and a sub panel. You will need permits, and what are your local noise ordinances? See a professional.

The 5k Watt portable generators will not run your central air system PERIOD.

They will run a window unit though.

A typical whole house generator would be in the 12-15k watt range and that may or may not handle the whole house. Generators are sized by the loads they will run. Duty cycle is an important factor as well.

BUT- a 5000W portable for $600 is anot a bad deal. In fact- right after Katrina- I paid $900 for one to run a spare window unit and freezer.

My house has 12 tons of central AC so I could not afford a whole house at this time. :)

Generac makes a system for emergency power supplies. You must install a service breaker. without this breaker you will power up the power companies lines and kill a service lineman. You NEED an electrician to do this properly. Never, ever connect a generator directly to your distribution panel, it's a potential DEATH TRAP!

5000 watts ain't gonna do what you want. watts divided by volts =amps, that's less than 30 amps. $600.00 sounds way to cheap.

I have a gasoline powered 8 hp engine with a 4 KW gen. Since it puts out 220vac, I run it directly into the circuit breaker panel of the house.

It runs the water pump, all lights, tv and one window ac unit. I can run the microwave and if nothing else is running, it can run a burner on the stove top.

IT's nowhere near enough to run a whole house AC.

You need to look at the power requirements of the ac unit. You need to supply about 20% more than the MOCP (max overcurrent protection) rating.

It's impossible to say how large of a unit you should get at this point. You should contact your utility to determine you average and peak rates of consumption. If your meter is any good at all, you should be able to get this information back from them. If not, look at your utility bill and determine average throughout the highest use months (heating or cooling). The general rule of thumb is 125%. Personally, I prefer 140 - 150% to allow more room for added demand growth.

In order to run the A/C and everything else in your home, you really should be looking into a 10,000 watt generator. With it you will get an automatic transfer switch and an automatic exerciser. Installed correctly and maintained, it will give you years of dependable service.

Check the total ampere rating on the A/C unit (both condenser and evaporator/air handler if it's central). I doubt that your 5000 watt unit will start and run your unit cause that's only 20 amperes. We have a generator that runs our unit but it's matched.

I have a Honda 3000 watt,(EU3000is)

very quiet .

that 5000 watt will do nicely for you.

you can get 30 amps out of it easy.

i doubt your ac eats more than 20amps at most

$600 is kinda cheep.

it will probably be loud or not very fuel efficient.

i did my home work and found, Honda has a very nice, compact, quiet,

and very fuel efficient.

i paid about 2g for it and am glad i did.

there are some junk gen's out there and they are cheep.

check out the link below,

they do a good job explaining what size to

get for your needs

!2Kw at least should do the trick. You need to calculate your total wattage that could be used if all is turned on at the same time. Your supplier of the gen-set will be able to advise you further. The bigger unit you go for the better, same load but easier on the unit in the long term and your wallet.