What Size Generator to Run a TV?
Any generator made runs a TV; a 55 inch LED draws about 100 to 200 watts, no start surge. The real question is power quality: TVs and consoles want the clean sine wave of an inverter generator or a battery power station, not the ragged output of a cheap open-frame unit. For a TV and not much else, a power station beats a generator outright.
Wattage by type
| TV type | Running | Starting |
|---|---|---|
| 43" LED | 60 to 100 W | no surge |
| 55" LED (planning number) | 100 to 200 W | no surge |
| 65" OLED | 150 to 300 W | no surge |
| Game console (playing) | 80 to 200 W | no surge |
| Soundbar + streamer + router | 40 to 80 W | no surge |
| Starlink kit | 50 to 75 W | no surge |
What it takes with company
Same engine as the wattage picker: running total plus the single biggest start spike, then the smallest class that carries it with 20% headroom.
| Load list | Running | Peak | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| TV + streamer + router | 275 W | 275 W | 2,200W inverter |
| Movie night + fridge + lights | 1,075 W | 2,575 W | 3,400W inverter |
The details that change the answer
Watts were never the issue here; the entire entertainment stack (TV, console, soundbar, router, a Starlink dish if the outage took the cable with it) totals under 500W. What matters is total harmonic distortion. Inverter generators and power stations produce a clean sine wave; bargain open-frame units can push 15 to 25% THD, which most electronics tolerate but some switch-mode power supplies genuinely hate. If the TV will live on generator power every storm season, make it inverter power and stop thinking about it.
And run the honest comparison first: a 300 watt-hour power station runs the TV stack for around two hours silently, indoors, no fuel. If what you actually want during outages is news and a charged phone, the battery is the right tool and the generator is for the fridge. The two also combine well: generator charges the station during its fridge shift, station carries the quiet hours.
Questions people ask
Can a generator damage my TV?
A dirty one can, over time. High THD from cheap open-frame units stresses power supplies, and voltage spikes when big loads drop off are worse. An inverter generator or power station solves it at the source; failing that, a decent line-interactive UPS between generator and TV smooths both problems for about $80.
What size generator for a TV and Starlink during an outage?
Anything; the pair draws under 300W. A 2,200W inverter loafs at 13% load doing it, which is actually mildly wasteful (engines are least efficient lightly loaded). This is the textbook case for a power station recharged by the generator during its fridge shift, or for eco-throttle mode if the inverter has one.