Generator for a small hotel

[Berrianaqa]

Hi,
I own a small hotel in one of the Mountain States. Sometimes the power goes out because of the winds. I want to protect myself by buying a 10 kW generator. Will this power be enough for my 20 rooms in the hotel? Here Best 10000 Watt Generators of 2021 [Dual Fuel & Gasoline] - https://reviewerst.com/generators/10000-watt-generators/ advise to take from 10 to 12 kW of power. Can my experienced colleagues give me some advice?

 

[James]

You really need a site visit to determine power requirements
some important details could be.

air conditioning
water heating
space heating
cooking
fridges & freezers

some of these may use more than 10kw on there own.
it might be possible to rearrange circuits so the large power devices stay off when generator supply is powering the property, leaving the essential items only powered up.
there are quite a few factors to consider so I would not advise a DIY approach o this.

involving a company with experience in backup power will most likely save you money by ensuring everything is specified correctly in the first instance.

 

[James]

Just to add, I have 8kw backup generator that feeds a 3 bedroom house, it is not difficult to overload it if we are not carefull with kitchen appliances like oven, wash machine and kettle.

 

[pc1966]

20 rooms could easily eat up 10kVA of generator if you are not careful.

Some of the USA sparks such as @Megawatt would be better placed to answer the more detailed aspects of how you can do that in the USA, but as @James says first you need to decide what has to be kept powered, and that for me would be lights and internal phone, fire alarm, etc.

Then you need to see how much discretionary equipment can be kept going, first priority for me would be any boiler that needs a modest amount of power for water pumps, ignition, etc., so you can keep the guests warm. Same maybe for gas cooking in the kitchen. Probably also internet/wifi as it won't take that much power and gives the guests some options to find out what is going on.

Beyond that you have to decide what can be dropped or put on some sort of priority system that powers it only if the load is not too great. Electric heating, A/C and even guests' sockets are thing that probably have to be cut under loss of mains conditions.