What Appliances Use the Most Power from a Generator?

Ever wondered why your generator groans the moment you flick on the air con, oven, and dryer all at once? The short answer: those appliances chew through the most power. Keep reading to see which ones drain your generator fastest — and how to keep your home running smoothly during an outage.

What Appliances Use the Most Power from a Generator?

Not all appliances are equal when it comes to energy use. Some barely make a dent, while others drain your generator in no time.

Heating, cooling, and big kitchen appliances are usually the biggest culprits. Mix a few of these together and you’ll push even a solid generator to its limits.

Which Appliances Use the Most Electricity at Home

In an average Aussie household, the following appliances chew through the most power. Knowing their wattage is key when deciding what to run during a blackout.

The Most Power-Hungry Appliances and Your Generator

Anything that heats or cools tends to be greedy. Air conditioners, electric heaters, ovens, hot water systems, and dryers can all stress a generator if you try to run them together.

On the flip side, lights, laptops, and smaller devices don’t take much power, which is why prioritising matters so much when you’re relying on backup.

Appliance Wattage Chart

How to Manage Your Appliances with a Generator

Knowing which appliances use the most power is only half the battle. The real skill is managing them so you don’t overload your generator.

What to Prioritize in a Power Outage

During a blackout, focus on the essentials first. Fridges and freezers should be top of the list to protect your food, along with lights, medical gear, and maybe a fan or small heater.

Skip the luxuries like dryers, hot water systems, or ovens unless you’re running a large generator with plenty of headroom.

The Role of Starting and Running Watts

Here’s where many people slip up. Appliances often need extra power to get started — called the starting wattage. Once running, they drop back to a lower level, known as the running wattage.

Take a fridge as an example. It might only use 200 watts to keep ticking over but can need close to 600 watts to start the compressor. If you don’t allow for those surges, you risk tripping the generator or shutting everything down.

Conclusion

In short, the hungriest appliances are usually heaters, coolers, ovens, and dryers. By focusing on essentials and factoring in starting watts, you’ll stretch your generator further, avoid overloads, and keep your household running smoothly when the grid goes down.

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• What Is Reverse Power Protection in a Generator?
  
• What Is a Generator Muffler or Silencer?

Timothy Jagger

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About the author:
“What I love most about getting outdoors is switching off and hitting reset. I used to spend my weekends legging it out from under a roof—now I help others do the same.”