So a 2,300-watt unit can run a couple of appliances, but what about some of the more medium-sized generators? Ryobi sells two mid-range portable generators, a 3,600-watt conventional generator and a 4,000-watt inverter generator. The difference between the power output offered by these is minimal, so they should be able to handle a similar power load. The conventional generator delivers 4,500 starting watts and 3,600 running watts, while the inverter unit delivers 4,000 starting watts and 3,400 running watts.
These power outputs should be able to handle most appliances in your household. According to Home Depot, a refrigerator runs ~600 to 800 watts, an element on an electric range takes ~2,500 watts, a television takes ~100 to 300 watts, and a PC ranges from ~500 to 2,000 watts. These generators are also powerful enough to manage a water pump and might even be able to manage central air-conditioning in smaller homes, though they will still struggle to keep everything going at once. You’ll have to be selective with which appliances you use, calculate their power consumption, and map out how many of them you can have going at a given time. Even so, these generators give significantly more headroom than the 2,300-watt models and so there they offer a lot more flexibility.
