Check off everything you want running during an outage. We add up the typical running watts, add 25% headroom, and round up to a standard standby size — a planning estimate you can take into a quote conversation.
Watt figures are typical running watts for each load, shown next to it. Two Baldwin County notes before you start: if your home is inland on a well, that pump is not optional — without it you have no water. And if your home is a beach house, remember the loads that protect an empty house — air conditioning (mold control) and the refrigerator — matter as much as comfort loads. If you have two AC units, check both sizes that apply.
Check at least one load above to see your estimate.
Your selected loads total 0 in running watts. With 25% headroom, plan on about 0.
Planning estimate: —
On a septic system with an electric pump? Many inland Baldwin County systems use an effluent or grinder pump. There's no separate line above — check the sump pump (½ hp) entry as a stand-in for the estimate, and tell the provider about the septic pump in your quote request so it's in the real load calculation. Curious what your estimated size costs installed? See the Baldwin County cost guide.
How This Estimate Works — and Its Limits
Method: Add the running watts of everything you checked, add 25% headroom so the generator isn't running flat-out, then round up to the next common residential standby size (10, 14, 18, 22, or 26 kW).
Running watts aren't the whole story. Motors and compressors — AC units, well and sump pumps, refrigerators — draw a brief starting (surge) load that can be two to three times their running watts. A generator that covers your running total on paper can still struggle when a big motor starts. Installers account for this; this calculator flags it rather than hiding it.
Load management changes the math. Smart load-shedding modules pause non-essential loads (a dryer, an oven, a second AC) for a few seconds while a motor starts, which often lets a smaller, cheaper generator cover a bigger home.
Fuel matters. Ratings differ by fuel — for example, Generac's 22 kW model is rated 22 kW on propane and 19.5 kW on natural gas. Much of inland Baldwin runs on propane and much of the Eastern Shore and in-town Foley on natural gas; wherever you are, confirm the rating of any model on your fuel before comparing quotes.
The final number isn't ours or yours. A licensed installer's or electrician's load calculation — from your panel, nameplates, and local code — governs the size you buy. Treat this page as a planning estimate for comparing quotes, not a specification.