Portable generators are sold for power cuts, campsites and work sites, but they are also a leading source of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. This guide covers what the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) says on its Carbon Monoxide Information Center page. It covers US advice only, and it is general information, not medical advice: if you suspect CO poisoning, get to fresh air and call emergency services.

This guide is based on the public source listed below. We have not tested any generator or store. For camping heaters and lanterns, see our guide to camping heaters and carbon monoxide, and for alarms see our CO alarm guide.

What CPSC says

Source: CPSC, Carbon Monoxide Information Center (no date for the guidance; the page lists news items as recent as 9 October 2026). Last checked: 17 October 2026.

  • Portable generators are the page's main concern. It says one generator can produce as much carbon monoxide as hundreds of cars.
  • Never run a portable generator inside a home or garage, even with doors and windows open.
  • Run it outdoors only, at least 20 feet from the home, with the exhaust pointed away from the building.
  • Alarms: battery-operated CO alarms, or alarms with battery backup, belong on every level of the home and outside sleeping areas. Interconnected alarms are preferred so that all sound when one does. Check the batteries regularly (the page gives no interval).
  • If an alarm sounds or you suspect poisoning: the symptoms listed are headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, sleepiness and confusion. Get to fresh air immediately, then call emergency services.
  • Numbers: CPSC says more than 200 people in the US die each year from accidental non-fire CO poisoning linked to consumer products, and more than 100 of those deaths are linked to portable generators. The page gives no year for these figures, so treat them as CPSC's general statement.

What to check on a generator listing

  1. Does the listing give the manual and warnings, including where the unit may be used and how far from buildings?
  2. Do you have a safe outdoor place at least 20 feet from the home for it to run, away from windows and doors?
  3. Do you have working CO alarms on every level and outside sleeping areas before you need the generator?
  4. Safety features. The CPSC page we read does not discuss CO shut-off features or standards, so treat any such claim in a listing as the seller's until you confirm it with the maker.
  5. Returns and delivery. Generators are heavy. Check delivery, fuel and return terms before you order.
  6. At a campsite, the same rule applies: keep it outdoors and away from tents and vehicles you sleep in.

What we could not confirm

  • Generator purchase standards, CO shut-off features and UK or EU guidance (not on the page we read), and the annual CPSC reports that the page links to.

Source: US CPSC, Carbon Monoxide Information Center.