Planning
Temporary power is sized to your load, not your square footage. Add up what runs at once, leave headroom for motor startup, and you’ll land on a generator that keeps the site running without hauling around more than you need.
The goal is simple: the generator has to supply everything that runs at the same time, plus the extra jolt that motors draw when they start. Get those two numbers and the size follows.
List the equipment that runs simultaneously — tools, lighting, the office trailer’s HVAC, pumps, heaters — and total their running watts. This is your baseline continuous load. It’s fine to estimate; the point is a realistic peak, not a precise audit.
A common rule of thumb is to add roughly 20–25% headroom over your calculated peak so the unit isn’t running flat out. Steady load below the rated capacity also runs cleaner and uses less fuel.
Not sure of your total? Share the equipment list in a quote request and SITE PRO will help size the generator and distribution for your site.
Add up the running watts of everything used at once, size for the biggest motor’s startup surge on top of that, then add about 20–25% headroom. Small, localized needs suit a portable unit; site-wide power points to a towable generator with distribution.
Motor-driven equipment briefly pulls two to three times its running watts when it starts. If the generator is sized only to the running total, that surge can overload it and trip the power, so you size for the biggest motor starting while the rest of the load is on.
Generators, power distribution, lighting, and climate control to keep the site running.
Jobsite offices, secure storage, and material handling to run and stage your project on site.
The order you set up a site matters. A practical week-one sequence for fencing, access, sanitation, power, offices, and waste on a construction site.
Cold-weather work in the Northeast brings freezing temps, short days, and snow. How to keep heat, power, sanitation, and access working through winter.
Tell SITE PRO what your project needs — sanitation, fencing, dumpsters, a site office, power. One request, one point of contact, and rough numbers are fine to start.
