How to Use the Surge Watts Calculator
Quick-pick a common appliance to see its typical running and surge watts, or enter your own running watts and indicate whether the appliance has a motor or compressor — the calculator estimates the surge watts you'd need a power station or generator to handle.
This tool exists specifically to catch the sizing mistake covered in the overload-trip guide before it happens to you.
Checking an appliance you already own
As covered in the running-vs-surge guide, compare the estimated surge watts here against your specific power station or generator's surge/peak rating (not its continuous rating) before assuming a motor-driven appliance will start successfully.
Adjusting the multiplier for your specific appliance
As covered in the resistive-vs-motor guide, the default 2-3× multiplier is a reasonable typical range for most motor-driven appliances, but checking your specific appliance's own spec sheet for its exact surge rating gives a more precise result when the decision is close.