Generator for home: choosing the best and affordable power plant. 65 photos of models and their installation options

The presence of electricity in the house is considered a necessary condition for life and is taken for granted by many. But not everyone can boast of stability, uninterrupted power supply. Bad weather, breakdowns in power grids can leave entire neighborhoods without light. And some country villages are still not electrified yet.

Generators are capable of helping in this situation — equipment that can perform the role of an autonomous power supply source and power all your appliances in the house. Our article will help you figure out which generator is better for your home.

Summary of the article:

There are various ways to ensure autonomy in the power supply, for example, to install photovoltaic panels or a wind generator. But such technologies are not available to everyone:

Firstly, they are quite expensive.
Secondly, it will be difficult to ensure the safety of such property, especially if you do not live in the house all year round.
And thirdly, energy companies may have questions.

Therefore, often connecting the generator becomes the most profitable and even the only correct solution.

Petrol models

Generators differ, first of all, by the type of fuel that is used in their work. The most popular are gasoline models. They are quite affordable, have a compact size and work with an acceptable noise level.

At the same time, most of the products in the economy class line have a high level of fuel consumption, which is more expensive compared to analogues.

Gasoline units require A-92/A-95 grade fuel to operate. The estimated capacity is up to 15kVA. But you will not be able to use them for a long time, so it is unacceptable to connect them as the only source of power supply.

The longest duration of operation without shutdown is 8 hours. A pause in operation is required for effective cooling of the entire system.

When choosing this option, you need to determine which type of engine will suit you. If the two-stroke version has a performance focused on powering installations up to 0.9 kVA, then the four-stroke model allows the limits of this indicator of 1-15 kVA.

The material of the cylinder block affects the service life of the equipment:

for aluminum blocks — 500 hours, which is enough to cover short-term electricity needs;
cylinders with a cast-iron sleeve have a life of up to 1500 hours.

A gasoline generator can have a four-stroke engine with quieter operation, a longer service life.

Two types of its construction are possible:

single-cylinder with a motor life of 2.5-4 thousand hours.;
two-cylinder with the possibility of operating up to 5 thousand hours.

The main advantages of this type of generator are ease of use, compactness and the ability to run in harsh conditions at temperatures up to -30 degrees. Its relative cheapness and not too high noise level make it an excellent solution when compensating for short-term power outages.

Do not forget about the disadvantages. This is the high cost of fuel, the restriction on its storage for no more than six months, explosion and fire hazard.

Diesel type units

They are a more economical and reliable type of equipment compared to the previous version. Diesel generators are used if the absence of light in the house is prolonged — more than 8 hours. The cooling system (air and liquid) allows them to be operated as household mini-power plants.

Household diesel generators with air cooling have only one advantage over gasoline units – a long duration of one-time operation, but at the same time they will take up a lot of space and work noisily.

But the service life of liquid-cooled diesel generators reaches 40 thousand hours. This ensures the reliability of the equipment. You can purchase models with motors at a low number of revolutions – 750 and 1.5 thousand rpm./min. They make less noise, save fuel.

Generators for 3 thousand rpm are also available. With a low price and compactness, this option will be more expensive during operation.

Among the advantages of diesel generators , it is worth highlighting:

higher operating time to failure rate;
total efficiency in electricity generation;
possibility of round-the-clock use in the mini-power plant mode;
safety according to fire-fighting parameters.

But such models also have serious drawbacks. Firstly, they are not used at low temperatures less than -5 degrees without special thermal protection. Secondly, there is noise at work. Thirdly, careful care is required during the application process. For example, if you bought a diesel unit, but do not use it often or it is idling, then wear may be significant.

In general, the option under consideration is a fairly effective way to solve the problem of autonomous power supply of a private house.

Models on gas

The high cost of this type of equipment and the need for stable gas supply are factors that significantly restrain their spread. Although the gas generator demonstrates good performance in terms of noise level and efficiency.

At the same time, several operating modes are allowed , depending on the type of gas fuel:

on liquefied propane-butane (LPG);
on natural gas mainline supply (NG);
combined version with the ability to switch between LPG and NG modes if necessary.

The customer must determine the economic meaning of buying this model for himself. After all, with regular work and the need to use a propanobutane mixture, you will have to constantly refuel the cylinders or change them.

Therefore, if you can boast of centralized gas supply, but light outages are irregular, then it is advisable to install low-power (with a limit of 6 kVA) gas units. However, they have air cooling and 3 thousand rpm. / min.

For full autonomous provision, more powerful liquid-cooled generators are advantageous. Thanks to 1500 rpm, this option can have a resource of up to 60 thousand hours.

It should be remembered about the risks of gas generators:

the requirement of installation in warm rooms;
the need for good ventilation;
high cost of equipment;
requirements for the project and the approval of the connection.

If these moments do not frighten you, then you can buy this model. As a result, you will get a stable power supply with moderate noise and a large work reserve.

Emissions of harmful substances will be less dangerous, and economic indicators can be improved by connecting to a common gas supply system.

Which specific option to choose, you must decide for yourself, based on the conditions of future operation. In the photo of the generator for the house, you can consider the most common types and models.

How to calculate the required power correctly

The price of equipment for autonomous power supply at home is directly dependent on its capacity. Electrical equipment with its own energy consumption parameters is located in different houses.

If you plan to achieve complete independence, you will need to power the whole house, which means you need to sum up the power of all equipment. In this case, a generator with a power of at least 10 kW will be required.

Well, if you rarely visit the country or the light is turned off only periodically, then it is more expedient to connect only vital appliances. Then the power, for example, of a conventional generator with autorun, 3-5 kW will be sufficient.

It is easy to calculate the required power. It is necessary to study the passports of the devices and summarize the indicators. But remember that a number of units with electric motors, such as a refrigerator or a pump, have a starting power that can be 3-5 times higher than the nominal.

Some manufacturers indicate the power consumption in kVA. To convert this value into kW, you need to multiply by a factor of 0.8. Well, be sure to provide a margin of 10-20% when calculating the total power.

Tips for choosing equipment

To make the generator work efficiently and you have no problems with it, take into account a few simple rules:

The functionality of the hardware is determined by the type of startup. The simplest suburban option is to manually turn on with a cord. The electric starter does not require brute male strength – it is enough to turn the key or press the button. Autorun is useful because it turns on the generator automatically when the mains voltage goes out.

Electric generators can be single-phase, rated at 220 V, or three-phase under 380 V. This feature is important to know when choosing a model.

The comfort of residents should not be disturbed by a strong hum. Choose gasoline units with a noise level of up to 74 dB and diesel units with an index of less than 82 dB. The presence of a casing can significantly reduce the sound discomfort.

A large fuel tank increases the operating time until the next refueling, but at the same time the dimensions of the equipment and its weight increase.

Choose models equipped with additional surge protection. A more efficient cooling system is a liquid one.

The range of equipment suppliers is quite wide. You should choose the right model based on the tasks and financial capabilities. But if a generator is purchased as the main source of power supply, the selection criteria should be more stringent, since reliability, safety, and reliability are especially important here.