Power Outage Prep Guides
Practical, scenario-specific guidance — find the one that matches your situation.
CPAP Power Backup: Keeping Sleep Apnea Therapy Running During an Outage
A CPAP machine draws relatively little power — most units use well under 100W continuous — which makes a small, dedicated battery backup a practical option instead of running a full generator overnight.
Sump Pump Battery Backup: What to Know Before an Outage
A battery backup sump pump keeps basements dry during exactly the storms most likely to also cause a power outage — flooding risk and grid outages tend to spike together in heavy rain and hurricanes.
Well Pump Power Outage: How to Keep Water Running
Well pumps typically need a continuous few hundred to over a thousand watts depending on depth and motor size, plus a much higher surge to start the motor — check your pump's nameplate rating before sizing a generator or power station.
Refrigerator Food Safety During a Power Outage
A full, unopened refrigerator keeps food safely cold for about 4 hours after the power goes out; a full freezer holds temperature for roughly 48 hours (24 hours if half full).
Power Outage Prep for Renters and Apartments (Battery-Only, No Generator)
Most leases and many building fire codes prohibit running a fuel-powered generator on a balcony or inside a unit — carbon monoxide risk in an enclosed multi-unit building is serious. Battery-based power stations are the safe, code-compliant option for renters.
Winter Storm Power Outage: Keeping Heat Running Safely
Space heaters and furnace blowers draw significant continuous wattage — a furnace fan alone is often 600-800W, and a space heater can add 1,200-1,500W more. This load profile usually needs a full generator, not a small power station.
Work-From-Home Power Outage Backup: Keeping Wifi and Laptop Running
A laptop, monitor, and home router/modem draw relatively little continuous power — usually well under 200W combined — which a small power station handles easily for many hours.
Using Your EV as Backup Power During an Outage
Some newer EVs support vehicle-to-home (V2H) or vehicle-to-load (V2L) power export, letting the car's battery power part or all of a home during an outage — check your specific model and model year, since this capability varies widely and often requires a dedicated home charger/inverter setup, not just a cable.
Carbon Monoxide Safety When Running a Generator
Carbon monoxide from a fuel-powered generator is invisible and odorless, and can build to fatal levels within minutes — even outdoors, if the generator is near a door, window, or vent. It's one of the most common causes of injury during outage-related generator use.
LED Lantern vs. Flashlight: Best Lighting for a Power Outage
A lantern lights a whole room, which matters more than a flashlight's narrow beam for actually living through a multi-hour outage — cooking, finding things, general movement around the house.
How Long Will a Power Station Last During an Outage?
Runtime depends on the power station's watt-hour (Wh) capacity divided by what you're actually running — a 500Wh station running a 50W load (a few lights, phone charging) lasts roughly 8-10 hours accounting for inverter losses; the same station running a 500W load lasts closer to 45-60 minutes.
Generator Transfer Switch Safety Guide
A transfer switch lets a generator safely power a home's existing wiring and circuit breakers, instead of running extension cords to individual appliances room by room.
Hurricane Generator Checklist: What to Do Before the Storm
Test your generator before hurricane season, not during it — start it, run it under load for at least 20-30 minutes, and confirm it starts reliably. Generators that sit unused for a year are a common point of failure exactly when needed.
Power Outage Prep for Apartments and Condos
Building-wide outages in apartments and condos are sometimes shorter than standalone-house outages in the same storm, since multi-unit buildings are often prioritized for utility restoration — but individual-unit prep still matters for comfort and safety.
Backup Power for Medical Equipment and Elderly Family Members During an Outage
Devices like CPAP machines, home oxygen concentrators, mobility scooters, and refrigerated medication all depend on power in ways that go beyond convenience — plan backup power for these before an outage, not during one.