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Tell us what you need to power and we'll tell you exactly what size generator to buy — and how much propane to store for 3, 5, 7, 14, or 30 days of outage.
These affect your load calculation. Answer as accurately as you can.
Check each item you want running during an outage. Adjust quantities where needed. Wattages are real-world averages — your actual usage may vary.
| On? | Appliance | Qty | Watts each | Hours/day |
|---|
Most people run a standby propane generator continuously (24 hrs). Portable gasoline generators are often run 8–12 hrs/day to save fuel. Adjust to match your plan.
No guesswork. Here's the math behind every number.
Generator size: We add up your selected appliance wattages, multiply by your quantity, then apply a 25% safety buffer (standard industry practice — never size a generator at 100% of your load). The result is rounded up to the nearest standard generator size available on the market.
Propane consumption: A propane generator burns approximately 1 to 1.5 gallons per hour per 10kW of output under typical load. We use a conservative 1.25 gal/hr per 10kW at your selected daily runtime, then multiply across each outage duration. Real-world consumption depends on actual load — a lightly loaded generator burns less.
Cost estimates: Based on 2024–2025 Florida Gulf Coast contractor pricing for equipment, automatic transfer switch, electrical connection, permits, and buried propane tank installation. Natural gas connections and gasoline portables have different cost profiles not reflected here.