At one time some houses had only 15 amp electric service This has been increased over the decades to the point where 200 amps is common. That's 240 volts x 200 amps which is in the neighborhood of 48kw. (someone will please inform us about the power factor an whatever other mistakes I have made to this point)
When I estimated the loads that my generator would need to support it came to 11kw The 16 kw unit we installed has been fine
I think the biggest load a normal house will put on a system is if it has electric resistance heating That might be around 20 kw (presumably A/C will not run at the same time)
An ordinary one man workshop might draw up to 4 kw though it could go higher
Motor starting loads may double some individual loads briefly but these would be a small percentage of the total
Adding up my house plus electric resistance heat plus electric stove and water heater and a substantial shop load
11 + 20 + 8 + 4 = 43 kw if it all runs at the same time, 200 amp service (48 kw) is more than adequate but 100 amp (24 kw) would be borderline
or without the electric heat it would be 23 kw, 100 amp service (24 kw) would be good and 60 amps (12 kw) would be borderline
So here's my question; Who has had main circuit trips and under what circumstances?