Storms, heat waves and grid failures can leave homes without power for hours or days. A battery backup keeps the essentials running (the fridge, lights, Wi-Fi, phones and medical devices) without the noise, fuel and carbon monoxide risk of a gas generator.
Plan your backup in three steps
- List your essentials. Most families need the fridge, a few lights, Wi-Fi and phone charging. Add medical devices like a CPAP first.
- Decide how many days. One day covers most outages; two to three days is safer in hurricane and winter storm areas.
- Size the battery and solar. Use the calculators below to turn your list into a capacity, then see how much solar would keep it topped up.
Size my backupTurn your essentials list into a battery size.Open →
Add solar rechargingStretch a backup battery through a multi-day outage.Open →
Battery backup vs gas generator
| Battery power station | Gas generator | |
|---|---|---|
| Indoor use | Safe indoors, no fumes | Never indoors (carbon monoxide) |
| Noise | Silent | Loud |
| Runtime | Limited by battery size; solar can extend it | As long as you have fuel |
| Big loads (AC, well pump) | Needs a large, expensive unit | Handles them more cheaply |
| Upkeep | Recharge every few months | Fuel storage, oil changes |
Safety first
Never plug a generator or power station into a wall outlet to power your house (“backfeeding”). It can electrocute utility workers and start fires. To power home circuits directly, have a licensed electrician install a transfer switch or a manufacturer-approved transfer kit.
Guides in this section
Find outage checklists, appliance runtimes and setup guides in the Home Backup Power guides archive.