Power Consumption of Household Appliances

Are you looking for a backup generator for your household? Then you need to know the power needs of your electrical appliances you want to keep running at all costs. I have great news for you! Our team here at Generatorist has helped over 200,000 visitors find information about generators and we will help you as well with our generator wattage chart.

These tables & charts will help you calculate how big and powerful generator you will need as a backup source of power. Don’t forget to inspect each appliance / power tool in your home individually to see the actual wattage consumption numbers.

Our data is gathered from reputable government websites, popular generator manufacturers like Honda, Generac or Yamaha and merchants like Lowe’s, Sears or Home Depot. We add new appliances and update the numbers on a regular basis to make this the most comprehensive resource out there.

Essential Appliances

Estimated wattage

Household Appliances	Rated (Running) Watts	Additional Surge Watts
Evaporative AC	2,600 W	0 W
Heat Pump	4,700 W	4,500 W
Humidifier (13 Gal.)	175 W	0 W
Electric Water Heater	4,000 W	0 W
Well Water Pump (1/2 HP)	1,000 W	2,100 W
Window AC (10,000 BTU)	1,200 W	3,600 W
Window AC (12,000 BTU)	3,250 W	9,750 W
Central AC (10,000 BTU)	1,500 W	4,500 W
Central AC (24,000 BTU)	3,800 W	11,400 W
Sump Pump (1/3 HP)	800 W	1,300 W
Sump Pump (1/2 HP)	1,050 W	2,150 W
Furnace Fan Blower (1/3 HP)	700 W	1,400 W
Furnace Fan Blower (1/2 HP)	800 W	2,350 W
Garage Door Opener (1/2 HP)	875 W	2,350 W
Light Bulb (Common)	75 W	0 W
Space Heater	1,800 W	0 W
Ceiling Fan	60 W	70 W
Dehumidifier	240 W	0 W
Tube Light (1500mm)	22 W	0 W
Night Light	1 W	0 W
Electric Heater (Fan)	2,000 W	1,000 W
Electric Thermal Radiator	500 W	0 W
Light Bulb (LED)	9 W	0 W
Electric Water Heater (Tankless)	6,600 W	2,200 W
Electric Water Heater (Immersion)	3,000 W	0 W
Oversink Water Heater (Hand Wash)	3,000 W	0 W
Central AC (40,000 BTU)	6,000 W	6,700 W

Kitchen Appliances

Estimated wattage

Household Appliances	Rated (Running) Watts	Additional Surge Watts
Toaster	850 W	0 W
Microwave	1,000 W	0 W
Refrigerator / Freezer	700 W	2,200 W
Coffee Maker	1,000 W	0 W
Electric Stove (8" Element)	2,100 W	0 W
Wine Cooler (18 Bottles)	83 W	0 W
Deep Freezer	500 W	1,500 W
Electric Can Opener	170 W	0 W
Dishwasher	1,500 W	1,500 W
Food Processor/Blender	400 W	0 W
Electric Kettle	1,200 W	3,000 W
Food Dehydrator	800 W	0 W
Fryer	1,000 W	0 W
Pressure Cooker	700 W	0 W
Rice Cooker	200 W	500 W
Slow Cooker	160 W	20 W
Steriliser	650 W	0 W
Water Dispenser	100 W	0 W
Sandwich Maker	700 W	300 W
Percolator	800 W	300 W
Electric Oven	2,150 W	0 W
Espresso Coffee Machine	1,300 W	200 W
Induction Hob (Per Hob)	1,400 W	400 W
Cooker Hood	20 W	10 W
Air Fryer	1,500 W	0 W
Water Filter & Cooler	70 W	30 W
Hot Water Dispenser	1,200 W	100 W
Side-by-Side Fridge	800 W	1,200 W
Modern Fridge (2001-2020)	400 W	600 W
Smart Fridge	500 W	750 W

Laundry Appliances

Estimated wattage

Household Appliances	Rated (Running) Watts	Additional Surge Watts
Clothes Dryer (Gas)	700 W	1,800 W
Clothes Dryer (Electric)	5,400 W	6,750 W
Hair Dryer	1,250 W	0 W
Iron	1,200 W	0 W
Washing Machine	1,150 W	2,250 W
Curling Iron	1,500 W	0 W
Electric Shaver	15 W	20 W
Vacuum Cleaner	200 W	200 W
Bathroom Towel Heater	60 W	90 W
Extractor Fan	12 W	0 W
Electric Shaver	15 W	5 W
Heated Bathroom Mirror	50 W	50 W
Steam Iron	2,200 W	300 W
Straightening Iron	75 W	300 W
Power Shower	7,500 W	10,500 W

Entertainment Appliances

Estimated wattage

Household Appliances	Rated (Running) Watts	Additional Surge Watts
Laptop	50 W	0 W
Stereo	450 W	0 W
Television (22" LED)	17 W	0 W
Television (49" LED)	85 W	0 W
Television (82" LED)	230 W	65 W
Television (CRT)	500 W	0 W
VCR / DVD Player	100 W	0 W
Video Game System	40 W	0 W
Monitor	200 - 250 W	0 W
Home Internet Router	5 W	15 W
Home Phone	3 W	5 W
Playstation 4	85 W	5 W
Nintendo Switch AC Adapter	7 W	33 W
Amazon Echo	3 W	0 W
Amazon Echo Show	2 W	2 W
Apple TV	3 W	3 W
Computer Monitor	25 W	5 W
Desktop Computer	100 W	350 W
Xbox One	50 W	60 W
Mi Box	5 W	2 W
Set Top Box	27 W	3 W
Home Sound System	95 W	0 W
Guitar Amplifier	20 W	10 W
AV Receiver	450 W	0 W

Other Appliances

Estimated wattage

Household Appliances	Rated (Running) Watts	Additional Surge Watts
Clock Radio	50 - 200 W	0 W
Fax	60 - 80 W	0 W
Printer (Laser)	600 W	200 W
Printer (Inkjet)	20 W	10 W
Security System	500 W	0 W
Garage Door Opener (1/2 HP)	875 W	2,350 W
Copy Machine	1,600 W	0 W
Cell Phone Battery Charger	25 W	0 W
Outdoor Light String	250 W	0 W
Electric Mower	1,500 W	0 W
Paper Shredder	200 W	220 W
Projector	220 W	270 W
Scanner	10 W	18 W
Electric Trimmer	300 W	500 W
Treadmill	280 W	900 W
Tablet Charger	10 W	5 W
Sewing Machine	70 W	10 W
Air Purifier	25 W	5 W
DAB Mains Radio	5 W	4 W
EV Home Charger	1,600 W	1,800 W
Electric Blanket	200 W	0 W
Electric Doorbell Transformer	2 W	0 W
Water Feature	35 W	0 W
Fan (Pedestal)	50 W	10 W
Fan (Table)	10 W	15 W
Fan (Wall)	45 W	15 W
2-Way Radio (12A)	360 W	0 W
2-Way Radio (23A)	840 W	0 W
2-Way Radio (35A)	960 W	0 W

Printable Chart

Determining your

wattage requirements

If you want to learn what electronic appliances will your generator run, you need to get ready to do some math. Don’t worry, it will be a very simple process of adding up several numbers.

To determine what appliances you can run on this type of generator at the same time, you need to follow these steps:

List all electronic appliances in your home you want to keep running in the case you are out of power (here is a great list full of appliances you might use)
Write information from their name tags on required running and starting watts into a table (see examples below)
Then you need to add up all the running watts required to operate your appliances
The next step is to find the item with the highest additional starting watts
Then add this number to your total running watts
The final number represents the amount of starting watts your generator needs to provide

Here is a good example of calculating wattage needs for a 4000 watt generator.

We have decided that in case of a weather-caused blackout, we would need only essentials such as refrigerator with a freezer so our food will be safe, a lamp that will serve as an emergency light source, a small window AC unit to keep the temperature under control, a toaster, and a laptop.

Selected Appliances	Rated (Running) Watts	Additional Starting Watts
Toaster	850 W	0 W
Refrigerator / Freezer	700 W	2,200 W
Laptop	50 W	0 W
Lamp (2 Lightbulbs)	150 W	0 W
Window AC (10,000 BTU)	1,200 W	3,600 W
TOTAL	2,950 W
TOTAL		6,550 W

As you can see in our example above, if we add up all running watts of our appliances we get the number 2,950 – so we are well within the 4,000 running watts limit (850 + 700 + 50 + 150 + 1,200 = 2,950).

However, we would need a generator that is capable of producing at least 6,550 surge (starting) watts to power all these appliances (2,950 + 3,600 = 6,550).

Just keep in mind that some electric appliances in your home may not have running watts provided on their data tags. If this is the case, you can estimate the running watts required thanks to the following formula:

Watts (W or kW) = Volts (V) x Amps (A)
Amps (A) = Watts (W or kW) / Volts (V)

So, as long as you have required Volts and Amps, you can easily convert them into an estimate of required running watts. Maybe you remember that this equation represents the Ohm’s law from High School physics.

Luckily, there is a device called “appliance load tester” that you can get to determine how many watts each your appliance takes. You can easily get one from Amazon and avoid all that physic´s equation.

You need to check each appliance / power tool in your home individually to see the precise wattage requirements. Feel free to check out the wattage requirements of the most popular household appliances, RV & camping appliances, or power tools for contractors here on Generatorist.

Further resources:

Looking for More Appliances & Their Wattage Usage?

About Generatorist

Matthew Gerther

Founder, Generator enthusiast

Our aim here at Generatorist is to become the No. 1 resource for all things related to generators & power needs. We helped over 200,000 visitors with our tips and reviews, and we will help you as well.

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