Can you run a generator indoors? No, and not in the garage either

Why not even in the garage

Generator exhaust is full of carbon monoxide. In a closed space it builds up fast enough that people pass out before they notice. CPSC says opening doors or windows will not let out enough of it. CPSC’s report on 2012 to 2022 counts 749 deaths from generator carbon monoxide. It calls this a minimum, because not every death is reported to it.

Most of those deaths happened at home. In 73% of the home deaths (404 of 553), the generator was inside the house. In another 18% (99), it was in an attached garage or carport. Power outages, mostly from ice storms, snowstorms and hurricanes, were behind 139 of the deaths, and 45% came in the four coldest months.

It keeps happening. During Winter Storm Fern in January 2026, a Nashville children’s hospital treated 49 children for carbon monoxide poisoning in one week, and two men were found dead of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning. One had a generator running in his bedroom (WPLN).

How far from the house a generator has to be

CPSC: run it outside only, at least 20 feet away from the house. Not on a porch, not in a carport. Point the exhaust away from your home and any building someone could enter. Close windows and vents near the generator or in the path of its exhaust.

CDC gives the same distance: at least 20 feet from doors, windows and vents. Outdoors is not enough on its own. In CPSC’s count, 28 people died at home with the generator outside, usually near an open window or vent.

Rain and snow do not change the rule. CPSC says to follow the maker’s instructions, which may call for a generator tent rated for it or for waiting until the weather passes. Never move the generator inside or into the garage to keep it dry.

Carbon monoxide alarms

CPSC: put battery-operated CO alarms, or alarms with battery backup, on each level of your home and outside each sleeping area. Interconnected alarms are best, because when one sounds they all sound. Test them before a storm and keep spare batteries. A plug-in alarm with no battery stops working when the power goes out, which is exactly when you need it.

An alarm is a warning, not a fix. In CPSC’s report, an alarm was known to be present in only 33 of 872 deaths, and in 17 of those it did not work, mostly because of dead or missing batteries. Buy an alarm listed to UL 2034, the US standard for CO alarms. We have not checked alarm listings on Amazon, so this page links none.

Generators with a carbon monoxide shutoff

Many newer generators carry a sensor that shuts the engine off when carbon monoxide builds up around it. Two voluntary standards set when it must trip. UL 2201 shuts the engine off at a lower level: 150 parts per million averaged over 10 minutes, or 400 at once. ANSI/PGMA G300 allows 400 and 800 (CPSC’s 2023 proposed rule). A shutoff is a backstop, not permission to run the generator closer. CPSC’s report describes a 2021 case where a shutoff-equipped generator, advertised as meeting G300, sat outside under the eaves near attic vents. It did not shut off, ran until the tank was empty, and three people died.

If you also want a fuel generator for outside, pick one with a CO shutoff. Of the 20 portable generators we track, the maker lists a CO shutoff on 19. The lowest-priced one on Amazon today is the WEN DF8000X ($623 at Amazon).

CO features are as each maker lists them on its own product page. Champion says its CO Shield is not a substitute for an indoor CO alarm. Amazon listings checked October 14, 2026. Every generator here goes outside, at least 20 feet from the house. All generators we track.

What you can run indoors: a battery power station

A portable power station is a big battery with wall outlets. It burns nothing, so it makes no carbon monoxide, and that is why it is the thing sold as an “indoor generator” or “solar generator.” It holds a fixed amount of energy, so size it to the job. The table gives what each appliance draws and how long 1 kWh of usable battery runs it.

Follow the station’s manual on where to keep it and how to charge it. Plug appliances straight into the station. Never plug a station or a generator into a wall outlet to power the house: that backfeeds the utility line. Anything wired into your home is a job for a licensed electrician (which transfer switch fits).

Not sure what you need? Size your own list of appliances and see every unit judged against it.

Sources

1. CPSC: Fatal incidents associated with non-fire carbon monoxide poisoning from engine-driven generators and other engine-driven tools, 2012-2022 (PDF, July 2023), read October 13, 2026
2. CPSC: Winter storms aren't over: CPSC warns of deadly carbon monoxide risks and fires during power outages (January 30, 2026), read October 13, 2026
3. CDC: Avoiding carbon monoxide poisoning (natural disasters toolkit), read October 13, 2026
4. WPLN: Carbon monoxide poisoning hospitalizes dozens in Tennessee winter storm (January 30, 2026), read October 13, 2026
5. CPSC: Safety Standard for Portable Generators, supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking, Federal Register, April 20, 2023 (UL 2201 and PGMA G300 shutoff limits), read October 13, 2026
6. CPSC: Carbon monoxide research and statistics (all reports), read October 13, 2026

Related: our safety rules · power station for a refrigerator · power station for a CPAP · power station for a sump pump.