Electric Generator

Choosing an electric generator can be very intimidating if you don't understand how they are classified.   A portable generator is classified by the amount of watts or kilowatts it provides in order to power electrical devices.  The more electrical items you want to power the bigger the generator you need.

Recreational generator usually prove from 1000 watts to 2500 watts.  These are small units that can easily be lifted into a pickup or small truck to be taken to camping or picnicking site.  They are also great for tailgaters.

Midsize, also called emergency, portable generators usually are sized from 3000 watts to 10,000 watts.  These are designed to provide the power for several items in a home when the power company fails.  The size you choose depends on how many items you want to operate at a time.

Professional grade are usually classified as greater than 10,000 watts and designed to operate large saws, drills, and other power tools continuously day in and day out.

The standard measure of power is the watt.  It is just a unit designating the amount of power that a machine produces or consumes.  It is named for James Watt the father of the steam engine.  Although it is debatable as to whether he actually invented the steam engine it is a surety that he made several improvements that allowed the industrial revolution to really take off and change the face of the modern world.  Without steam power we wouldn't have had railroads or large ships, or massive factories that allowed the workers to build the items needed for a modern society.

A watt is a measure of how much current (electricity) is flowing at a certain voltage (pressure).  This holds exactly true for a Direct Current circuit and is very close to 100% true for a Alternating Current system with resistive loads only.

In science and engineering a watt is defined as being equal to one joule per second or the amount of power dissipated by one ampere of electricity flowing across one ohm of resistance.

A kilowatt is simply 1000 watts.