Lab tools
Updated October 6, 2026.
Built by Jeremy Panasuk.
Five calculators and a method page. Each tool page states its formula, the constants, and a worked click. This page is only the index.
Load sequencer
Open this when one sum assumes the microwave starts in the same second as the well pump. The form splits rows into always-on, wait, and never-overlap, then sizes the worst phase plus the headroom you type.
The worked click uses Honda rows only, so the saved watts are the script's coincidence rule, not a second wattage chart.
Altitude + heat derate
Open this after you already have a watt need and the pad is above 1,000 ft or the inlet air is above 77°F. The button uses this site's curve, which starts later than Generac's sea-level sentence.
Read the manual section on that page before you treat the percent as Honda's or Generac's. The worked clicks show the opening form, 5,000 ft, and a 2,000 ft / 100°F case.
72-hour storm runbook
Open this when the watt class is already chosen and you are staging cans, oil, and the outdoor spot. The button prints 24/48/72 hour fuel from running watts. The checklist under it is what you print.
The method and the worked clicks are marked so they stay off the printed page. Nav and the footer stay off that page too.
5-year ownership cost
Open this when the question is dollars over time, not a watt class. You type the purchase, the outage hours, and the per-change oil cost. Blank oil cost counts as $0.
The worked clicks follow the Honda EU2200i oil schedule or the Generac GP6500/GP8000E schedule, not a 50-hour clock. Standby fuel is not in that total.
Lot-line noise
Open this when you have a dB(A) figure that already names its distance and load, and you want free-field spreading to a farther point. The menu item with a cited sheet is Generac's 67 dB(A) at 23 ft.
The other three menu levels are labels stored in the script. The worked clicks double the distance and, separately, subtract a 5 dB barrier credit. Honda's 57 and 48 dB(A) stay out because that page does not state the distance.
Worked houses + method
Open this when you want the coincidence idea beside the tools, not a sixth calculator. It replays three stored house stacks and points at the same running-versus-starting rule as the home calculator.
Use it to see why a naive appliance sum oversizes a set. Then take the watt need back to the sequencer or the altitude page.
Which one to open
Start with the home calculator or the sequencer if the question is watts. Open derate when the pad is above 1,000 ft or the inlet air is above 77°F. Open the runbook when the watt number is already chosen and you need cans and the placement checklist. Open five-year cost when the question is dollars over time. Open lot-line noise when the question is decibels at a distance you can type.
Connecting a generator to a building takes a licensed electrician and a permit where local code requires one. These pages do not pull that permit.
Compiled with AI assistance from the sources below. Spot an error? Email [email protected].
Sources
The formulas and the worked clicks are on the tool pages. The citations those pages use:
- Load sequencer — Honda wattage guide for the rows that match it; the three lanes are the script
- Altitude derate — Generac GP6500/GP8000E manual and Honda EU2200i manual, set next to this site’s curve
- Storm runbook — CPSC, Ready.gov, FEMA, OSHA 3286, EIA heat content, Honda and Generac oil schedules
- 5-year cost — the same running-watt fuel rule as the runbook, and the Honda or Generac oil schedule
- Lot-line noise — OSHA Technical Manual inverse-square statement, Generac 22 kW sound row, FHWA barrier range