What size generator do I need for my 2000 sq ft house?

lohr500

QrizB said:

Diesel generators are less common in small sizes and also expensive to buy. The fuel keeps well and you can run a diesel generator on heating oil if necessary.

Unless the generator supplier specifically states that heating oil can be used to run the engine, I would advise against using heating oil in a diesel engine. (Assuming by heating oil we are talking about the widely used 28 second kerosene based home heating oil and not 35 second red diesel which is sometimes used for domestic boilers).

The lubricating properties of kerosene are lower than diesel and can lead to injector and fuel pump wear. Quite a bit of info on the internet if more detail is required.

QrizB

lohr500 said:

QrizB said:

Diesel generators are less common in small sizes and also expensive to buy. The fuel keeps well and you can run a diesel generator on heating oil if necessary.

Unless the generator supplier specifically states that heating oil can be used to run the engine, I would advise against using heating oil in a diesel engine. (Assuming by heating oil we are talking about the widely used 28 second kerosene based home heating oil and not 35 second red diesel which is sometimes used for domestic boilers).

The lubricating properties of kerosene are lower than diesel and can lead to injector and fuel pump wear.

Agreed that you shouldn't run a modern high pressure automotive diesel on heating oil.

A rarely-used standby generator, however, is likely to be both less demanding of its fuel and see far fewer hours run during its service life.

It is of course the owner's choice.

lohr500 said:

Quite a bit of info on the internet if more detail is required.

If you can provide specific links relating to the type of low-power single-cylinder diesels used in the type of generators you might use for domestic standby, I'd appreciate the chance to read them.

Moneysavingchap

You are on a UK forum, so I'm going to assume you're in the UK.

To start, let's be clear, you aren't going to end up getting a generator for your house. Unless you are very rich, and have something incredibly important you need to keep supply (not stated) there is no scenario where it will be worthwhile getting a generator given the I frequency of power interruptions in the UK. Even if this were to increase in the future, there will never be a scenario this will approach being cost effective. 

Now that's out of the way, let's see how you'd size this hypothetical generator. Square footage of your house means very little here. You could have very little load, or you could have a massive load within this space. You need to do the work and total up the load drawn by each of the appliances you wish to power (this apparently being a fridge, HVAC, microwave (eh?) and some lights). 

Then, and only then, can you even start to look at sizing your hypothetical generator. 

Qyburn

Moneysavingchap said:

... there is no scenario where it will be worthwhile getting a generator given the I frequency of power interruptions in the UK. 

That's a very sweeping statement, and certainly doesn't hold true right across the UK. We had three power cuts of 24 to 48 hours each in 21/22 and one last Winter. Some nearby areas were off for six days at one time. General advice from local authority, and from Government is all about how to prepare for and keep safe during power cuts. Even SSE is expecting this to continue.

It's arguable whether a generator is essential but it would certainly make these more tolerable.

lohr500

QrizB said:

lohr500 said:

Quite a bit of info on the internet if more detail is required.

If you can provide specific links relating to the type of low-power single-cylinder diesels used in the type of generators you might use for domestic standby, I'd appreciate the chance to read them.

If I was going to instal a diesel generator at home to suit my needs, I would be looking at one of the smaller single cylinder electric start Hyundai units like a DHY6000SE. Page 12 of the manual states .

3.1.1. Selection of fuel. 3.1.1.1. Only use standard specification diesel, this can be red or white. 

https://dccf75d8gej24.cloudfront.net/documents/HyundaiDHY6000SEDieselGeneratorCombinedUserManual.pdf

Other small single cylinder diesel engines may be fine running on heating oil, but the purpose of my post was just to highlight that this may not be the case.