A Simple Load-Planning Worksheet — Your Numbers, One Page
Last verified: September 2026
A fill-in-the-blanks worksheet for sizing your own backup power: list what you'd run, read the watts off your nameplates, add them up in order, and add a margin. Rather fill it in together? My number is (330) 200-8042.
The Load-Planning Worksheet, at a Glance
Sizing backup power is really a list problem, and this worksheet is the list. You write down each thing you'd want running, read its running watts off the nameplate, note which items have a motor, and jot the starting (surge) watts for those. Then you add the running column, add the single biggest surge, and add a margin — and that sum is the number to shop with. There's a printable page-by-page version up top.
Common Questions
1 What goes in each column of the worksheet?
Four columns: the item, its running watts (steady draw, from the nameplate), has a motor? (yes or no), and starting watts (the surge, for motors only). Fill the first two for everything; the last two matter only for things with a motor.
2 How do I add it all up?
Three steps. Add the whole running-watts column for your steady total. Circle the single biggest starting surge among your motors and add just that one on top. Then add a comfortable margin. The result is your shopping number.
3 Why do I add only the biggest surge, not all of them?
Motors almost never start at the same instant, so your unit only has to clear your running total plus whichever one motor's surge is largest. Adding every surge together just inflates the number — see our running-watts-versus-starting-watts guide.
4 Where do I get the numbers to fill in?
From each appliance's nameplate — a small label on the back, bottom, or inside listing watts, or volts and amps you multiply. Photograph them first; our guide on reading a nameplate shows where each one hides. Never guess a number.
5 What if I can't find a number for one row?
Check the manual or the maker's website, or ask the well company for a pump's horsepower. When a figure won't come, leave a little extra margin rather than guessing low — and feel free to send me the worksheet and I'll help.
6 What does the finished worksheet get me?
One trustworthy number to shop with — and a page to keep. It carries into our guides on sizing a portable generator, an inverter generator, a battery, or a standby unit, so you match your real list to the right machine.
Would You Rather I Just Help?
Filling in a worksheet is simple, but you don't have to do it alone. I'll help you gather your nameplate photos, fill in every row, add it up the right way, and land on a number you can trust — with nothing to sell you. $99 flat for a visit, 30-day come-back-free.
Would you rather I just do this for you?
No shame in it — plenty of folks would rather hand it off, and that's what I'm here for. I'll come to your home, set it up right, and make sure it's working before I leave. Flat $99 per visit — no jargon, no upsell, and every visit is 30-day come-back-free.
Not a hardware job? I can often fix it remotely for $49 — a secure screen-share, up to 2 hours, that you watch the whole time and can end whenever (included free for $39/mo Support Plan members, and it counts toward the $99 if it turns out I need to come out).