Find sourced outage, adoption, cost and safety figures, then compare official home backup ratings.
19.0%largest natural-gas output drop · 2026 comparison
33.9mUS households reported an outage · 2023 AHS
269.2minutes of interruptions per customer · EIA 2025
Same generator. Different fuel. Different running watts.
GasolinePropaneNatural gas
Champion 201176
Westinghouse WGen11500TFc
DuroMax XP13000HXT
Running output (W); bars start at zero and share an 11,500 W scale.
Key takeaways
- US utilities using the IEEE method reported 269.2 minutes of interruptions per average customer in 2025, down from 662.6 minutes in 2024. (EIA, October 2026)
- In the 2023 American Housing Survey, 33.9 million US households reported losing all power at least once in the previous twelve months. (US Census Bureau, October 2024)
- About 70% of US households reporting an outage in the 2023 American Housing Survey said at least one lasted six hours or longer. (US Census Bureau, October 2024)
- In the 2023 American Housing Survey, outages affected 35.4% of rural US households, compared with 22.8% of urban households, in the previous twelve months. (US Census Bureau, October 2024)
- Generac's 2025 Form 10-K estimates 6.75% home-standby penetration in its US addressable market: owner-occupied detached single-family homes valued above $175,000, not all US households. (Generac, February 2026)
- CPSC's US safety guidance links portable generators to more than 100 deaths a year from accidental non-fire carbon-monoxide poisoning. (CPSC, accessed October 2026)
- USDA's US emergency guidance gives approximately 48 hours for a full freezer and 24 hours for a half-full freezer with its door closed during a power outage. (USDA FSIS / FoodSafety.gov, accessed October 2026)
Compare home backup ratings by model and fuel
Every generating model in our guides; each fuel rated separately, with linked manufacturer sources.
29 ratings from 16 models
All 29 ratings from 16 models; table filters are removed for printing.
Running W = continuous AC output; peak duration needs the manual. “See manual” = no comparable peak assigned here. Wh = stored energy. This is our guide selection, not a market sample.
| Model / type | Fuel | Running W | Peak W | AC volts | Battery Wh |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLUETTI Elite 200 V2Battery | Battery | 2,600 W | See manual | 120 V | 2,073.6 Wh |
| Champion 201175Portable | Gasoline | 7,000 W | 8,500 W | 120/240 V | Not a battery |
| Champion 201175Portable | Propane | 6,300 W | 8,500 W | 120/240 V | Not a battery |
| Champion 201176Portable | Gasoline | 7,250 W | 9,000 W | 120/240 V | Not a battery |
| Champion 201176Portable | Natural gas | 5,875 W | 9,000 W | 120/240 V | Not a battery |
| Champion 201176Portable | Propane | 6,525 W | 9,000 W | 120/240 V | Not a battery |
| Champion 201278Portable | Gasoline | 3,500 W | 4,500 W | 120 V | Not a battery |
| Champion 201278Portable | Propane | 3,150 W | 4,500 W | 120 V | Not a battery |
| Cummins QuietConnect RS20AStandby | Natural gas | 18,000 W | See manual | 120/240 V | Not a battery |
| Cummins QuietConnect RS20AStandby | Propane | 20,000 W | See manual | 120/240 V | Not a battery |
| DuroMax XP13000HXTPortable | Gasoline | 10,500 W | 13,000 W | 120/240 V | Not a battery |
| DuroMax XP13000HXTPortable | Natural gas | 9,000 W | 11,250 W | 120/240 V | Not a battery |
| DuroMax XP13000HXTPortable | Propane | 10,000 W | 12,500 W | 120/240 V | Not a battery |
| EcoFlow RIVER 2 Pro (768 Wh)Battery | Battery | 800 W | See manual | 120 V | 768 Wh |
| Generac Guardian 14 kW (7223/7225)Standby | Natural gas | 14,000 W | See manual | 240 V | Not a battery |
| Generac Guardian 14 kW (7223/7225)Standby | Propane | 14,000 W | See manual | 240 V | Not a battery |
| Generac Guardian 22 kW (7043)Standby | Natural gas | 19,500 W | See manual | 240 V | Not a battery |
| Generac Guardian 22 kW (7043)Standby | Propane | 22,000 W | See manual | 240 V | Not a battery |
| Generac Guardian 26 kW (7290/7291)Standby | Natural gas | 22,500 W | See manual | 240 V | Not a battery |
| Generac Guardian 26 kW (7290/7291)Standby | Propane | 26,000 W | See manual | 240 V | Not a battery |
| Honda EU2200iPortable | Gasoline | 1,800 W | 2,200 W | 120 V | Not a battery |
| Honda EU3000iSPortable | Gasoline | 2,800 W | 3,000 W | 120 V | Not a battery |
| Honda EU3200iPortable | Gasoline | 2,600 W | 3,200 W | 120 V | Not a battery |
| Jackery Explorer 2000 v2Battery | Battery | 2,200 W | 4,400 W | 120 V | 2,042 Wh |
| Westinghouse iGen2550DFcPortable | Gasoline | 1,900 W | 2,550 W | 120 V | Not a battery |
| Westinghouse iGen2550DFcPortable | Propane | 1,700 W | 2,300 W | 120 V | Not a battery |
| Westinghouse WGen11500TFcPortable | Gasoline | 11,500 W | 14,500 W | 120/240 V | Not a battery |
| Westinghouse WGen11500TFcPortable | Natural gas | 9,500 W | 12,000 W | 120/240 V | Not a battery |
| Westinghouse WGen11500TFcPortable | Propane | 10,500 W | 13,500 W | 120/240 V | Not a battery |
No models match. Try another name or reset the table.
To turn ratings into a plan, use the generator size calculator or the running-cost calculator.
How long do US power outages last?
EIA utility reliability records measure annual customer averages, rather than the duration of one future outage.
| Year | Annual minutes, all events | Annual minutes, no major events | Interruptions per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 366.6 | 123.9 | 1.348 |
| 2024 | 662.6 | 131.6 | 1.531 |
| 2025 | 269.2 | 125.3 | 1.340 |
- US utilities using the IEEE method reported 269.2 minutes of interruptions per average customer in 2025, down from 662.6 minutes in 2024. (EIA, October 2026)
- Excluding major event days, US IEEE-method utilities reported 125.3 minutes of interruptions per average customer in 2025. (EIA, October 2026)
- US IEEE-method utilities reported 1.34 interruptions per average customer in 2025, counting non-momentary events. (EIA, October 2026)
How uneven is power-outage exposure across the US?
EIA’s 2024 analysis shows why national averages do not describe every state or storm season.
| 2024 measure | Published figure | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Interruption hours linked to major events | 80% | US electricity customers |
| Longest annual interruption duration | Nearly 53 hours | South Carolina; average customer |
| Highest annual interruption frequency | 4.4 interruptions | Hawaii; average customer |
- Major events such as hurricanes accounted for 80% of US electricity-interruption hours in 2024, according to EIA’s analysis. (EIA, December 2025)
- South Carolina electricity customers averaged nearly 53 hours of service interruptions in 2024, the longest duration of any US state in EIA’s analysis. (EIA, December 2025)
- Hawaii electricity customers averaged 4.4 interruptions in 2024, the highest frequency among US states in EIA’s analysis. (EIA, December 2025)
How costly are major US weather disasters?
NOAA’s January 2025 assessment reports disaster-wide losses and fatalities, rather than costs or deaths caused solely by power outages.
| 2024 US billion-dollar disasters | Published figure |
|---|---|
| Events exceeding $1 billion in losses | 27 |
| Combined estimated losses | $182.7 billion |
| Associated fatalities | At least 568 |
- NOAA identified 27 US weather and climate disasters with losses exceeding $1 billion each in 2024, the second-highest annual count in its 45-year record. (NOAA / NCEI, January 2025)
- NOAA’s January 2025 assessment estimated $182.7 billion in combined losses from US billion-dollar weather and climate disasters in 2024, the fourth-highest annual total on record. (NOAA / NCEI, January 2025)
- NOAA’s January 2025 assessment associated at least 568 fatalities with US billion-dollar weather and climate disasters in 2024; these are disaster-wide deaths, not an outage-death count. (NOAA / NCEI, January 2025)
Who is affected when the power goes out?
The 2023 American Housing Survey asked households about the twelve months before interview; these are survey estimates, separate from EIA utility records.
| 2023 AHS measure | Published figure | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Urban households reporting an outage | 22.8% | Previous twelve months |
| Rural households reporting an outage | 35.4% | Previous twelve months |
| Households with electricity-dependent medical devices reporting an outage | 31.6% | Previous twelve months |
| Outage-related overnight stays away from home | 2.9 million households | Previous twelve months |
| Outage-related medicine spoilage | 705,000 households | Previous twelve months |
| Outage-related frozen pipes | 673,000 housing units | Previous twelve months |
- In the 2023 American Housing Survey, 33.9 million US households reported losing all power at least once in the previous twelve months. (US Census Bureau, October 2024)
- About 70% of US households reporting an outage in the 2023 American Housing Survey said at least one lasted six hours or longer. (US Census Bureau, October 2024)
- In the 2023 American Housing Survey, outages affected 35.4% of rural US households, compared with 22.8% of urban households, in the previous twelve months. (US Census Bureau, October 2024)
- Among US households with electricity-dependent medical devices, 31.6% reported an outage in the twelve months before the 2023 American Housing Survey interview. (US Census Bureau, October 2024)
- The 2023 American Housing Survey estimated that 2.4 million US households had someone miss work because of an outage in the previous twelve months. (US Census Bureau, October 2024)
- The 2023 American Housing Survey estimated that 4.9 million US households experienced outage-related food spoilage in the previous twelve months. (US Census Bureau, October 2024)
- The 2023 American Housing Survey estimated that 343,000 US households had basement or crawl-space water because an outage stopped their sump pump in the previous twelve months. (US Census Bureau, October 2024)
- The 2023 American Housing Survey estimated that 2.9 million US households had to stay away from home overnight because of a power outage in the previous twelve months. (US Census Bureau, October 2024)
- The 2023 American Housing Survey estimated that 705,000 US households experienced outage-related spoilage of refrigerated medicine in the previous twelve months. (US Census Bureau, October 2024)
- The 2023 American Housing Survey estimated that 673,000 US housing units experienced frozen pipes because of a power outage in the previous twelve months. (US Census Bureau, October 2024)
What do generators and power interruptions cost?
Standby adoption, installation guidance, company sales and historical interruption losses describe separate markets and costs.
| Measure | Figure | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Home-standby penetration, 2025 | 6.75% | Generac estimate for its defined US addressable market |
| Installed system guidance | $8,000–$16,000 | Generac US guidance; individual quotes vary |
| Residential sales, 2025 | $2.27 billion | Generac product category; includes more than generators |
| Net sales, 2025 | $4.21 billion | Generac global company sales |
| Annual sustained-interruption losses | $44 billion in 2015 dollars | Berkeley Lab’s 2018 US estimate; all customer sectors |
- Generac's 2025 Form 10-K estimates 6.75% home-standby penetration in its US addressable market: owner-occupied detached single-family homes valued above $175,000, not all US households. (Generac, February 2026)
- Generac's US installation guidance gives $8,000 to $16,000 for the generator, system equipment and materials, and installation; this is manufacturer guidance, not an individual quote. (Generac, accessed October 2026)
- Generac reported $2.27 billion in residential product sales for 2025, down 7% from 2024; that category includes more than home generators. (Generac, February 2026)
- Generac reported $4.21 billion in global net sales for 2025 across its residential, commercial, industrial and other activities. (Generac, February 2026)
- Berkeley Lab’s 2018 study estimated $44 billion per year in US sustained power-interruption costs, in 2015 dollars, covering interruptions longer than five minutes across customer sectors. (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, October 2018)
How quickly is residential battery storage growing?
Residential storage, solar-plus-storage adoption and the wider US storage market measure different things; none is a count of portable power stations.
| Measure | 2024 figure | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| New residential storage power | More than 1,250 MW | US; ACP / Wood Mackenzie |
| Solar installations paired with storage | 57% | New residential PV in California; Berkeley Lab |
| New storage energy capacity | 37,143 MWh | All US market segments; ACP / Wood Mackenzie |
- US residential energy-storage installations exceeded 1,250 MW in 2024, up 57% from 2023, according to the joint ACP and Wood Mackenzie market report. (American Clean Power Association / Wood Mackenzie, March 2025)
- Berkeley Lab found that 57% of new residential solar installations in California included storage in 2024, up from 14% in 2023; this is solar attachment, not battery ownership among all households. (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, October 2025)
- The joint ACP and Wood Mackenzie report recorded 37,143 MWh of new US energy-storage capacity in 2024 across all market segments, an increase of 34% from 2023. (American Clean Power Association / Wood Mackenzie, March 2025)
What do energy prices and fuel emissions tell us?
Price indexes describe changes rather than a local fuel quote; a fuel-carbon factor describes combustion rather than a generator’s electrical efficiency.
| Measure | Figure | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Electricity price-index increase | 3.8% | US CPI-U, year ending August 2026 |
| Gasoline combustion CO₂ factor | 8,887 g per US gallon | EPA factor; assumes full carbon conversion |
- The US electricity CPI-U index rose 3.8% over the twelve months ending August 2026, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics; this is a price change, not a cents-per-kWh tariff. (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 2026)
- EPA’s US greenhouse-gas equivalencies guidance uses 8,887 grams of CO₂ per US gallon of gasoline consumed, assuming the fuel’s carbon is fully converted to CO₂; this is a combustion factor, not a generator-specific emissions test. (US Environmental Protection Agency, August 2026)
How do portable batteries compare with installed storage?
Stored energy and rated AC output measure different limits; the residential storage sample describes solar-paired installations, not portable stations.
| Backup type / model | Stored energy | Rated AC output |
|---|---|---|
| BLUETTI Elite 200 V2 | 2,073.6 Wh | 2,600 W |
| Jackery Explorer 2000 v2 | 2,042 Wh | 2,200 W |
| EcoFlow RIVER 2 Pro | 768 Wh | 800 W |
| Residential solar-paired storage, 2024 sample | 13.5 kWh median | Not a model output rating |
- Berkeley Lab’s US distributed-solar dataset reports 13.5 kWh median residential battery capacity for 2024 installations, with California supplying about 90% of the storage-sizing sample; this describes solar-paired storage, not portable power stations. (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, October 2025)
How large is the generator carbon-monoxide risk?
Generator-specific CPSC estimates and CDC all-source CO figures have different scopes and must not be added together.
| Measure | Published US figure | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths linked to portable generators | More than 100 | CPSC consumer-product CO guidance |
| Unintentional non-fire CO deaths | More than 400 | CDC; all sources |
| CO emergency-department visits | More than 100,000 | CDC; all sources |
| Reported generator-only CO fatalities, 2012–2022 | 749 | CPSC staff incident report; not an annual estimate |
| Generator-related CO deaths in residential locations, 2012–2022 | 77% | CPSC staff incident report |
- CPSC's US safety guidance links portable generators to more than 100 deaths a year from accidental non-fire carbon-monoxide poisoning. (CPSC, accessed October 2026)
- CPSC tells US users to keep portable engine generators at least 20 feet from homes, outdoors only, with exhaust facing away, never inside homes or garages even with doors open. (CPSC, accessed October 2026)
- CDC reports more than 400 US deaths each year from unintentional non-fire carbon-monoxide poisoning across all sources, not solely generators. (CDC, January 2026)
- CDC reports more than 100,000 US emergency-department visits each year for carbon-monoxide poisoning across all sources. (CDC, January 2026)
- CDC reports more than 14,000 US hospitalizations each year for carbon-monoxide poisoning across all sources. (CDC, January 2026)
- CPSC staff’s July 2023 incident report documented 749 US non-fire CO fatalities associated with generators alone during 2012–2022, excluding incidents involving multiple fuel-burning products. (CPSC staff, July 2023)
- Residential locations accounted for 77% of US generator-related non-fire CO fatalities reported for 2012–2022 in CPSC staff’s July 2023 incident analysis. (CPSC staff, July 2023)
How long does food stay cold without backup power?
USDA guidance assumes closed doors; use a thermometer and the food-specific discard guidance.
| Appliance, door closed | Approximate cold-holding time |
|---|---|
| Refrigerator | 4 hours |
| Full freezer | 48 hours |
| Half-full freezer | 24 hours |
- USDA says a closed refrigerator can keep food safe for up to 4 hours without power in its US emergency food-safety guidance. (USDA FSIS / FoodSafety.gov, accessed October 2026)
- USDA's US emergency guidance gives approximately 48 hours for a full freezer and 24 hours for a half-full freezer with its door closed during a power outage. (USDA FSIS / FoodSafety.gov, accessed October 2026)
- FoodSafety.gov advises discarding refrigerated meat, poultry, fish and eggs exposed to 40°F or above for more than 2 hours in its US power-outage chart. (USDA FSIS / FoodSafety.gov, accessed October 2026)
Cite this page
Best Generator for Home. “40 Home Generator Statistics and Backup Power Facts in 2026.” Updated October 24, 2026. https://bestgeneratorforhome.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-run-a-generator/home-generator-statistics/
Reuse our compiled table and chart with credit and a link to this page. Original manufacturer documentation retains its own terms.
Methods
We checked 63 candidate figures and kept 40 outage, weather, adoption, cost, sales, energy and safety findings from original publishers. Model specifications remain comparison data and are excluded from that count. Utility averages, household surveys, company sales and safety populations retain their own scopes; published manufacturer ratings are not our measurements. The chart compares official fuel ratings for the three tri-fuel models in our guides.
Source tags give publication dates where available and access dates for undated pages. Next review: January 24, 2027. Send a correction or newer primary source.
Sources
- Honda: Honda EU2200i (accessed October 2026)
- Honda: Honda EU3200i (accessed October 2026)
- Honda: Honda EU3000iS (accessed October 2026)
- Champion Power Equipment: Champion 201175 (accessed October 2026)
- Champion Power Equipment: Champion 201176 (September 2025)
- Champion Power Equipment: Champion 201278 (accessed October 2026)
- Westinghouse: Westinghouse iGen2550DFc (accessed October 2026)
- Westinghouse: Westinghouse WGen11500TFc (accessed October 2026)
- DuroMax: DuroMax XP13000HXT (accessed October 2026)
- Generac: Generac Guardian 26 kW (7290/7291) (September 2022)
- Generac: Generac Guardian 22 kW (7043) (accessed October 2026)
- Generac: Generac Guardian 14 kW (7223/7225) (accessed October 2026)
- Generac: US installation guidance (accessed October 2026)
- Generac: 2025 company results (February 2026)
- Generac: 2025 Form 10-K: defined standby market (February 2026)
- Cummins: Cummins QuietConnect RS20A (accessed October 2026)
- BLUETTI: Elite 200 V2 published specifications (accessed October 2026)
- Jackery: Jackery Explorer 2000 v2 (accessed October 2026)
- EcoFlow: EcoFlow RIVER 2 Pro (768 Wh) (accessed October 2026)
- EIA: Electric Power Annual 2025, Table 11.1 (October 2026)
- US Census Bureau: 2023 American Housing Survey outage findings (October 2024)
- CPSC: Carbon Monoxide Information Center (accessed October 2026)
- CDC: Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Basics (January 2026)
- USDA FSIS / FoodSafety.gov: Power-outage food safety (accessed October 2026)
- American Clean Power Association / Wood Mackenzie: US Energy Storage Monitor: 2024 results (March 2025)
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory: US Distributed Solar and Storage: 2025 Data Update (October 2025)
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics: CPI-U: August 2026 (September 2026)
- US Environmental Protection Agency: Gasoline combustion carbon factor (August 2026)
- EIA: 2024 hurricane and state interruption analysis (December 2025)
- NOAA / NCEI: Assessing the US Climate in 2024 (January 2025)
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory: US sustained power-interruption cost study (October 2018)
- CPSC staff: Fatal generator and engine-driven-tool CO incidents, 2012–2022 (July 2023)