Power outages can be frustrating, whether it’s at your workplace or home. It not only halts your work but also causes a lot of inconvenience from a safety perspective. Thankfully, there are ways to avail an alternative power source until the electricity comes back up. Many households have power generators at home to deal with power outages.
Power generator use is so widespread that you can easily find the best propane generator that will fit within your budget and energy needs. It will keep your air conditioner running, your refrigerator, and your gadgets charged, and many more. You won’t even notice whether there’s a power outage or not. As much as power generators are helpful, finding the best propane generator can be difficult, especially when so many options are available. You don’t have to worry about that. Here are five great tips for choosing the best portable propane generator for your home. Take a look.
1. Check the Performance
Propane generators are expected to have more energy than gas generators. They can keep your lights and different electronic appliances running as long as there are regular supplies of propane. Propane generators can run refrigerators, AC, and space heaters, etc. The performance of the generators is measured in watt (W), and all generators have two wattage ratings. First, the running wattage is the generator’s energy continuously produced during its usage. The second is starting or maximum rating, which is the wattage produced by the generator. It only lasts for a few seconds. Make sure you carefully check the starting and running wattage ratings before making the purchase.
2. Know Your Requirements
To find the best propane generator, you need to understand your energy needs clearly. The best way to do that is to create a list of appliances and electronics you want to keep running during power outages. Add the wattage needed for all the appliances and check whether the generators can create much power to keep those appliances running. If you want to prolong your generator’s life, make sure you run only the essential appliances to save energy and increase the running time. Here are some of the maximum common power requirements of different appliances:
- Space heater: 5000 W
- Pressure cooker: 700 W
- Refrigerator: 200 W
- Color TV (25-inch): 150 W
- Home security system: 15 W
- Wi-Fi router: 10 W
- Phone charger: 7 W
3. Price
Price is an essential factor in choosing the right propane generator. It’s important to understand that propane generators can be more expensive than gasoline generators due to the additional features and performance they provide. An average propane generator with 2,000 maximum W and 1,600 W running can cost around $490 to $500 in stores. Make sure you know your energy requirements so you can choose the generator that satisfies power needs and fits your budget.
4. Features
Many modern propane generators come with many features that help you make the usage simpler and wholesome. It should come with different power outlets compatible with different appliances. Many generators come with USB adapters, RV outlets, electric and recoil start, fuel gauge, low power shut off, 120-volt outlets, etc. These features will help make better use of the generator.
5. Noise
It’s known that generators can be loud when they function, and the loudness is measured in decibels (dB). Most of the generators create a noise of 70 dB almost near a car engine. The modern generators are more noiseless. Some models with ultra-quiet functions produce less noise than 55 dB. The ultra-quiet generators are more expensive than the standard ones.
It’s also important to understand that when a generator is running at its peak capacity, it creates more noise, and when they are functioning at less than that, they create less noise.
If you plan to power your whole house, you might have to invest in a bigger high-performance propane generator. It will be a good investment if you want to deal with the inconvenience caused by power outages.
