The U.S. power grid is suffering more outages than ever—about 45% of utility customers experienced one in the first half of 2025—and the resultant blackouts are lasting longer. As our aging electrical grid struggles to keep up with increasing air conditioner use due to a hotter planet, not to mention artificial intelligence’s insatiable thirst for power, the problem will likely get worse: The U.S. Department of Energy estimates the risk of power outages will increase a mere 100 times over the next few years.
The first step in determining the right generator for your home is to determine how much power you’re going to need. This requires three data points: How long you’ll need generator power, how many things you’ll want to run off the generator during a power outage, and the wattage those appliances and systems will need.
Number of appliances. Think about what you’ll need to run off a generator. Will it be just a few lights and some phone chargers, or will you want to keep the heat on, run the refrigerator, and run a sump pump during a storm? Everything you add to the list will increase the capacity of the generator you’ll need.
Add all those watts up, and you have a baseline of your power needs during a blackout. Some appliances, like a sump pump, will pull more power when they start up (called starting watts) before settling into a lower power draw (running watts), so it’s a good idea to multiply your baseline by 1.5 to ensure you have enough capacity for surges when the pump or fridge compressor cycles on and off.
Should you choose a portable, inverter, or standby backup generator?
Next, you need to consider what kind of generator you’re looking for: A standby generator, a portable generator, or an inverter generator.
Portable generators are the most common and typically the most affordable. They have wheels and are designed to be moved around as needed, and range from as little as 1,000 watts of output to behemoths that can generate 20,000 watts (though the word “portable” starts to get a bit squishy with a generator that large—this model, for example, weighs 557 pounds). These are ideal for most people who just want a power option, and for folks who might use a generator at other times, like camping trips or when doing DIY projects around the house. Typical cost: Anywhere from $300 to about $4,000, depending on the specifications.
Power stations. Although sometimes referred to as “solar generators” because they can charge using solar power, these aren’t really generators—they’re large batteries that store power for later use. You can buy portable power stations that generate sufficient wattage for a whole house, and you can have larger systems installed that can take you off the grid entirely. They tend to be more expensive to purchase but cheaper to re-charge. But their main limitation is time: Once a power station is drained, it can be difficult (and slow) to recharge them using solar power alone.
Gasoline is the most common fuel type for portable and inverter generators. Gas is usually easy to buy, but gasoline goes bad, so you can’t just leave it in the tank or have a bunch stored in the garage indefinitely. You’ll have to drain the fuel tank when you’re not using the generator regularly, and make sure you stock up on fuel (or know how to siphon it from your car) when you think the power might go out.
Diesel. Diesel generators usually require less maintenance because of their simpler design and the self-lubricating properties of the fuel. As a result, these generators can last longer than other models and require less attention. On the other hand, diesel fuel generates a lot of smoke and bad odors, and might not be convenient if you don’t live near a source.
Other backup generator features to consider
Finally, a few things you might want to pay extra for:
Automatic shutdown. Generators are engines, and as such they generate pollution—you should never run a generator inside the house, or even too close to the house. Having a generator with a carbon monoxide detector that shuts down if it detects too much exhaust is an extra safety feature you might want to consider. Generators typically use oil for lubrication, too, so having a low-oil detection feature that shuts the generator down before it can damage itself is another feature you might want.
Receptacles (aka spots to plug things in). All the wattage in the world won’t do you much good if you don’t have enough receptacles to plug into, so make sure you do a count before you buy.
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