7 Best Portable Generators For Home Backup

Discover the best portable generators for home backup power so you can reliably run your refrigerator, freezer, and more during power outages.

Best portable generators for home backup top picks

One quick note is that I typically do not include this many Champion generators.

There were a few close calls but this generator brand really stands out in terms of reliability.

1. Champion 201067 – Best portable inverter generator for home backup (9000 peak watts)
2. Champion 201175 – Best portable dual fuel inverter generator for home (8500 peak watts)
3. Champion 200977 – Best small portable generator for home backup (4250 peak watts)
4. Champion 200929 – Best portable non-inverter generator for home backup (12000 peak watts)
5. Champion 201035 – Best portable non-inverter dual fuel generator for home (10000 peak watts)
6. Honda EU7000iS – Quietest portable generator for home backup (7000 peak watts)
7. Champion 100416 – Best portable natural gas generator for home backup (10000 peak watts)

These are all relatively big portable generators since a whole house tends to require a good amount of power.

If you only want to run a few smaller appliances and tools, the list of the best power outage generators could be better.

How we selected our top picks

When it comes to home backup power reliability and offering enough power are the most important things for portable generators.

A 50 amp outlet also tends to be convenient to get all that power into your house (keep the safety guidelines in mind).

Some of the other things I considered when selecting the portable generators for the top pick list include:

• Run time, fuel types, outlets, noise levels, etc.
• User reviews
• Anecdotal reviews from experts
• Price
• Brand trustability and reputation
• The performance categories below

If a pick seems interesting click it to see the online prices.

*Compared to similar generators and sometimes based on customer input

7 Best portable generators for home backup reviewed

If you know more or less what you want, the list of top picks and the performance table could be enough to choose the right model.

At the same time, the in-depth reviews of the best portable generators for home backup can make your decision easier.

1. Champion 201067 – Best portable inverter generator for home

The Champion 201067 is our top pick for the best portable inverter generator for home use.

Since this is such a popular category, this option is the first on the list.

Thanks to the inverter technology, you can safely use the power of the Champion 201067 to run sensitive electronics like a microwave, TV, and certain refrigerators and ACs.

Additionally, with 9000 peak watts, 7250 running watts, and a 50 amp outlet, you can get a lot of clean power into your house.

Something that stands out in the Champion 201067 is the reliability all the positive customer reviews imply.

On top of that, the investment required for the Champion 201067 is relatively low for a portable inverter generator around this power level.

Two things you do want to keep in mind are the below-average run time and somewhat louder noise levels.

These Champion 201067 details could be too suboptimal for certain neighborhoods and for running bigger devices throughout the night.

At the same time, even considering these details, the Champion 201067 will still often be a great choice for home backup power.

2. Champion 201175 – Best portable dual fuel inverter generator for home

The Champion 201175 is a close pick for the best portable dual fuel inverter generator for home backup power which means it can run on propane too.

This is mainly a close call because the Champion 201175 is relatively new at the time of writing.

There is more uncertainty about the quality at high volume than something like the DuroMax XP9000iH.

However, since this alternative has its share of issues and Champion generators tend to be reliable, this Champion 201175 gets the top spot if you want clean THD power from propane.

One of the benefits of propane over gasoline is that it typically stores longer.

In turn, staying prepared for power outages tends to require less maintenance and attention with portable dual fuel generators like the Champion 201175.

Something that positively stands out in the Champion 201175 is its quiet operation.

The noise levels of 61 dBA (typically measured at 25% load and 23 feet away) are what you can expect from a regular conversation.

In turn, this portable emergency generator should be quiet enough for you and your neighbors to run appliances overnight.

If you like the idea of all these benefits and have the budget for it, the Champion 201175 can be a good investment.

3. Champion 200977 – Best small portable generator for home backup

This list mostly contains portable generators with a lot of power since all the devices in a house tend to use a lot of electricity.

That being said, if you turn off many of your appliances and/or only have a few smaller devices, the Champion 200977 could be strong enough.

In turn, by keeping your home backup generator small, you can save money and keep things portable and compact.

There are a few very exceptional cases where the first Champion 200977 customers got was suboptimal.

That being said, this portable inverter generator is still very reliable overall.

Additionally, even at this budget-friendly price, the Champion 200977 comes with a dual fuel feature.

With noise levels of 64 dBA, you can also produce this clean power from propane in a reasonably quiet way.

One other thing to note is that the Champion 200977 does not come with wheels.

The weight of 79 lb (35.8 kg) is somewhat reasonable but you may still need help from a friend to conveniently get the portable generator in position.

At the same time, the Champion 200977 still gets the title of best small home backup generator for many good reasons.

4. Champion 200929 – Best portable non-inverter generator for home

Portable non-inverter home use generators like the Champion 200929 have the benefit that they tend to be more budget-friendly for their watt capacity.

With 12000 peak watts, 9500 running watts, and 50 amps, the Champion 200929 should be strong enough for the typical house.

That being said, you do need your own inverter or another way to “clean up” the power to be able to run the sensitive electronics inside of your house safely.

If this is checked off or you plan to power devices like a well pump instead, you can look at how impressive the Champion 200929 is.

On top of all the budget-friendly power you get, the Champion 200929 comes with an electric and remote start.

This makes operation more convenient since you can turn the portable generator on and off from the comfort of your home.

Especially in suboptimal weather conditions (but keep generator safety guidelines in mind).

Additionally, the CO sensor and GFCI outlets add an extra layer of safety to the Champion 200929.

The run time of 8 hours at 50% load may sound suboptimal at first.

However, considering all the power 50% load already is, the Champion 200929 is a great choice.

It is worth briefly mentioning that the Westinghouse wGen7500 and Westinghouse wGen9500 were close second choices in this category.

These tend to be very reliable too but seemingly just a bit less than the Champion 200929.

5. Champion 201035 – Best portable non-inverter dual fuel generator for home

The same non-inverter portable generator principles from the previous option apply to the Champion 201035 too.

However, this model is the top portable home backup power generator pick in the dual fuel subcategory of this type.

The Champion 201035 is also just a bit smaller at 10000 peak watts and 8000 running watts when running on gasoline.

Additionally, these power capacities are slightly lower when using propane instead.

That being said, the Champion 201035 is still big enough to provide backup power for reasonably sized sump pumps, well pumps, or similar tools.

If you have your own inverter or another way to clean up high THD electricity, you could use the Champion 201035 to run electronics throughout the power outage too.

With the 10 hours run time at 50% load and/or a big propane tank, you can use this power for a nice amount of time before having to refuel.

In short, if you don’t mind the high THD power, the Champion 201035 offers a lot of value (and power) at a reasonably budget-friendly price.

If you really want to keep your investment even smaller and don’t mind giving up a bit of reliability, you could also consider the Westinghouse wGen7500DF instead.

6. Honda EU7000iS – Quietest portable generator for home backup

While there are a few other relatively quiet portable home backup generators, the Honda EU7000iS could be the top choice if you really want to keep noise levels down.

With a rating of 52 to 58 dBA (25% to 100% load), the Honda EU7000iS should even be quiet for small neighborhoods where the other houses are relatively close.

Together with the nice run time of 16 hours at 25% load, this could be the right generator for running a refrigerator, freezer, and/or small/medium AC systems overnight.

The main downside of the Honda EU7000iS is its expensive price.

Especially if you consider the relatively small amount of power compared to many of the other portable home power outage generators on this list.

The Honda EU7000iS is also not perfect in terms of reliability yet since there are a few exceptional cases of technical issues.

At the same time, the Honda EU7000iS is still a solid portable generator.

For example, the BlueTooth connectivity makes the operation more convenient.

This feature allows you to start, stop, and track the performance of the Honda EU7000iS from the comfort of your home.

So many people will pass on the Honda EU7000iS due to its high price.

However, if you have the budget and value the low noise levels, this portable generator could still be worth the investment.

7. Champion 100416 – Best portable natural gas generator for home backup

The flexibility of a dual fuel feature is already great but you can take this one step further with tri fuel generators like the Champion 100416.

This portable generator can run on natural gas too.

Depending on your location, this could make it an even more convenient source of home backup power.

One thing to note is that the Champion 100416 produces high THD power.

To run sensitive electronics in a more convenient way, you can consider the Champion 201176 which is a portable tri fuel inverter generator.

Additionally, you may have enough with the 8125 peak watts of the Champion 201169 for what you plan to use in your home.

General benefits and alternatives aside, the Champion 100416 has a good gasoline run time of 12 hours at 50% load.

This can be helpful if you plan to switch between natural gas, propane, and gasoline depending on your location and availability.

Something you do need to keep in mind is that the Champion 100416 “only” has a 30 amp outlet.

This adds a limit to how much power you can get in your house through a single outlet when running 120 volt devices.

The noise levels of 74 dBA are not optimal for a night of good sleep either.

That being said, the Champion 100416 may not be perfect but it is still the overall top pick for the portable natural gas generator for home backup for a reason.

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What is the best portable generator for home backup power?

There are different types of portable home backup generators that can be better for certain people and situations.

That being said, our top pick for the best portable inverter for home backup power, the Champion 201067 9000 is often a good option.

Additionally, if you don’t need the full 9000 peak watts, the best small option, the Champion 200977 4250 can be a great choice too.