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  3. Generator Size Calculator
Free Tool

Generator Size Calculator.

Turn a load schedule into a kVA number, the next standard rental size up, and a fuel estimate. A planning aid for the power conversation, not a substitute for the engineer of record.

Enter load as

Sum of everything on the load schedule: audio, lighting, video, rigging motors, catering, HVAC.

Basis: standard genset rating convention. 0.8 is the common default for mixed production loads.

Basis: standard load-calculation practice. Not everything draws at once; 0.8 is a MODELED default.

MODELED (rule of thumb): 20 percent covers motor inrush and day-of additions.

kVA required
96 kW demand (120 kW connected at 80 percent diversity), divided by power factor, plus 20 percent headroom.
144
Suggested generator
Next standard rental size up. Runs near 80 percent load.
150 kVA
Fuel estimate
MODELED (rule of thumb): diesel near 0.07 gal per kWh at working loads. About 67 gal across a 10-hour show day.
6.7 gal/hr
This is a planning estimate, and we are not your engineer of record. Temporary power design, feeder sizing, grounding, and permitting must be done by a licensed electrician or the engineer of record and accepted by the AHJ. Bring this number to that conversation, not in place of it.

From the XPMS compliance engine: the same rulebase that runs XMCE checks in LEG3ND. What is XPMS? Explore LEG3ND

How generator sizing works.

Generators are rated in kVA at a stated power factor, usually 0.8. Your load schedule is in kW, so the conversion runs through two factors: diversity (not everything draws at once, so running demand is a fraction of connected load) and power factor (real power over apparent power). Add headroom for motor inrush and the gear that shows up on the truck unannounced, and you have the kVA the rental order needs.

Oversizing has a cost beyond the rental line: a diesel set loafing under about 30 percent load wet stacks, fouling injectors and stacks over a multi-day run. Power vendors solve it with paralleled smaller units or load banks. Bring the demand number, the show schedule, and the redundancy requirement to the vendor and the engineer of record; they design from there.

Frequently asked questions

How is the generator size calculated?
Connected load (entered in kW, or computed from amps and voltage) is multiplied by the demand or diversity factor to get running demand, divided by the power factor to convert to kVA, then padded by your headroom percentage. The suggested unit is the next size up from a list of standard rental genset ratings. The fuel line is a modeled approximation near 0.07 gallons of diesel per kWh at working loads.
Is this code-compliant electrical advice?
No. It is a planning aid, not engineering or AHJ advice, and we are not your engineer of record. Temporary power design, feeder sizing, grounding, and permitting must be done by a licensed electrician or the engineer of record and accepted by the authority having jurisdiction.
Where do the defaults come from?
The 0.8 power factor is the standard genset rating convention, and the diversity-factor concept mirrors standard electrical load-calculation practice. The 20 percent headroom default and the fuel curve are labeled MODELED because they are rules of thumb, not code values. The basis for each figure is stated next to the input it drives, the same way the XPMS compliance engine labels its rule sources.

Power Runs Through COMPVSS.

Fuel checks, generator rounds, and site-ops tasks live in the field app your crew already carries.

See COMPVSSBook a Walkthrough