I think a lot of people are learning a ton quickly on the issue. No need to apologize, if you've got a question there are probably dozens of others that do as well. I'm no expert at all but I do know on a portable you're going to run into significant limitations:
Fuel, gas, propane, natural gas, all have pluses and minuses.
Run time, before you need to change the oil
THD issues, don't want fry your electronics
AMP/Watt limitations, how much of what can you run
So it's very important if you're going to plan to use a portable to determine what it is most important to you to run, then determine what the best solution is for your budget. For my wife and I, it's AC in summer, now heat in winter (which never would have been on my list prior), and keep the fridge and the freezer. But the AC/Fridges are the highest use and require a big bump in amp's to get the compressors started. So you have to learn about your devices, add up the starting amps for all and see what generator will work for you. Or...you make decisions of what's necessary, or save up longer for a larger generator. When it comes to the AC there's a 'cheat' by installing a soft start/easy start capacitor that will allow you to sort of eliminate the startup amp requirements.
I've learned a ton through a lot of these threads. The other thing is if 1 generator won't cut it, get a smaller one to run just your electronics, like the Honda 2000i. You only run it when you need it and you can leave the larger generator to run your larger appliances.
aTm '99