Guides
Plain-language guides to sizing backup power: running vs starting watts, LiFePO4 vs NMC, cycle-life definitions, generator carbon-monoxide rules, and what the numbers on a spec sheet mean.
- Portable generator carbon monoxide safety: what CPSC says and what a CO sensor doesCPSC's rules for running a portable generator, what the UL 2201 and PGMA G300 shutoff standards require, and which generators in our data have a CO sensor.
- LiFePO4 vs NMC in portable power stations: what the cycle numbers meanLiFePO4 and NMC in power stations: how makers state cycle life to 70 % or 80 %, every station in our data by chemistry, and what “not published” means.
- Portable power station vs generator for home backup: a data comparisonPower stations and portable generators compared on maker data: cost per Wh vs per running watt, energy per charge vs per tank, noise, weight and indoor use.
- Running vs starting watts: how to size a power station or generatorWhat rated, continuous, peak and surge mean on station and generator spec sheets, why motors surge, and the largest-motor rule with a worked example.