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 350,000 visitors find information about generators and we will help you as well.

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

list-of-household-appliances
Download Here

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:

  1. 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)
  2. Write information from their name tags on required running and starting watts into a table (see examples below)
  3. Then you need to add up all the running watts required to operate your appliances
  4. The next step is to find the item with the highest additional starting watts
  5. Then add this number to your total running watts
  6. 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
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?

See The Complete List Here

About Generatorist

Matthew Gerther

Founder, Generator enthusiast

Our aim here at the Generatorist is to become the No. 1 resource for all things related to generators & your power needs. We have helped over 430,000 visitors with our tips, articles and reviews and we will help you as well.

Our work has been featured in many publications around the world – Yahoo.com, Telegram.com, PaylessPower.com, TopTenReviews.com, TechRepublic.com, ThePrepared.com, Renogy.com or ADT Solar. Generators are our passion, and we strive to provide the most reliable & most comprehensive information out there.

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9 thoughts on “Power Consumption of Household Appliances”

  4. John

    I am wanting to use a Ryobi 1200W petrol generator to charge a Nissan Leaf 2013 and cannot find a Safety load to allow this to work.
    What do I need to add in to achieve Charging ?
    My intent is to have a Reserve Power Supply for very long trips between Superchargers !!!
    Yours in Faith
    John S Croawell

    Reply
  5. John Goodnough

    This is a great resource site. I’m actually looking at purchasing a battery backup power station to replace a gas powered generator. You might want to look at them. They’re very powerful, can run for a long time in many situations and with the addition of stand-alone solar panels could provide power for a long time during an outage. They are pricey, but not when compared to high end solutions like Generac installations. Personally I think a lot of people will opt for them since so many people don’t have the option of running a petrol based generator (apartments, condos, city-dwellers, etc.).

    Thanks again for building such a useful site.

    Reply
  6. Vick

    Thanks for the superb info.
    Any thoughts on battery generators with solar recharging?
    In addition to power I’d like to assess recharge times and panel hookups.

    Reply
  7. David

    I assume your startup cost for a 40K BTU Central AC System is missing a leading 1 or it is very efficient at starting compared to the smaller units.
    From your chart: Running/Starting Watts
    Central AC (10,000 BTU) 1,500 W 4,500 W
    Central AC (24,000 BTU) 3,800 W 11,400 W
    Central AC (40,000 BTU) 6,000 W 6,700 W

    Reply
  8. GearJunky

    Wattage on 12K window AC is incorrect. How could it use almost three times what a 10K uses. The correct amount is 15K.

    Reply

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