Power

Power preparedness starts with identifying what your household needs electricity for and deciding which functions matter most during an interruption.

Review lighting, communications, refrigeration, heating and cooling, water access and any essential powered equipment. Your priorities will help you choose practical backup options that fit your household and budget.

Start With Your Essential Needs

Before purchasing equipment, make a short list:

• What needs backup power?
• How much power does each device require?
• How long would you need to operate it?
• What alternatives or relocation arrangements could you use?

Start with essential needs, then build your plan gradually.

Identify What an Outage Could Interrupt

Walk through your home and identify which everyday functions depend on electricity. Check what backup features your equipment already has and what arrangements you would need if those backups run out.

• Lighting: Identify how you would light essential rooms and walkways.
• Communications: Review charging options for phones, radios and other communication devices.
• Food storage and preparation: Plan for interruptions to refrigeration and electric cooking appliances.
• Heating and cooling: Identify another suitable place to go if indoor conditions become unsafe.
• Water access: Check whether your water supply depends on an electric pump.
• Essential medical equipment: Develop a backup-power and continuity-of-care plan with your healthcare provider and equipment supplier.
• Home access: Locate the manufacturer’s instructions for manually operating powered doors or gates.
• Purchases and transportation: Consider interruptions to card payments, fuel pumps and vehicle charging.

Your list will help you prioritize backup power and identify needs that require another solution.

Respond to Conditions, Not Just the Clock

Your household’s needs, local conditions and available supplies should guide your decisions. An urgent medical need or unsafe indoor temperature may require action immediately.

When the Power Goes Out

Check on household members, locate battery-powered lighting and review updates from your utility and local authorities. Put your household communication plan into use.

Protect Essential Needs

Follow your established plan for powered medical equipment and temperature-sensitive medications. Follow each medicine’s storage instructions and contact your pharmacist if storage conditions are uncertain.

Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible. Use your food-safety plan to decide when additional cooling or disposal is needed.

Reassess as the Outage Continues

Review drinking water, food, remaining battery capacity and household comfort. Check on neighbors when safe, and conserve backup power for priority uses.

Know When to Relocate

Identify a suitable destination and transportation arrangements before supplies or backup power run out. Follow evacuation instructions and seek help promptly if essential care or safe living conditions cannot be maintained.

Backup Lighting

Keep battery-powered lights where household members can find them easily. Choose options suited to the rooms, walkways and tasks you need to light.

• LED flashlights: Keep accessible lights for household members, with compatible spare batteries.
• Battery-powered lanterns: Use models intended for indoor use to illuminate shared spaces.
• Headlamps: Provide hands-free lighting for tasks and moving around your home.
• Rechargeable lights: Check their charge regularly and include them in your backup-charging plan.

Test your lights periodically and follow the manufacturer’s battery, charging and storage instructions. Keep spare batteries secure and away from young children.

Use battery-powered lighting instead of candles to reduce fire risk.

Backup Charging

Plan how you will recharge essential devices if household outlets are unavailable. Check compatibility, required cables and charging capacity before an outage.

• Portable power banks: Keep compatible units charged according to their instructions, with the cables your devices need.
• Portable power stations: Match the unit’s output, connections and usable capacity to your priority devices. Test your setup before relying on it.
• Solar charging: Use compatible panels and charging equipment. Charging performance depends on sunlight, weather, placement and equipment limits.
• Vehicle charging: Follow your vehicle’s instructions and avoid draining its starting battery. If the engine must run, operate it outdoors, away from doors, windows and air intakes—never inside a garage, even with the door open.

Prioritize essential medical needs and communications according to your household plan. Confirm backup-power arrangements for medical equipment with your healthcare provider and equipment supplier.

Keep charging equipment dry and follow the manufacturer’s operating and temperature limits.

Food Safety During Outages

Keep appliance thermometers in your refrigerator and freezer, and have a cooler and ice or frozen gel packs available.

• Keep doors closed: An unopened refrigerator keeps food cold for about 4 hours. An unopened full freezer holds its temperature for about 48 hours; a half-full freezer for about 24 hours.
• Arrange additional cooling: If the outage reaches 4 hours, move refrigerated perishable foods to a cooler with ice or frozen gel packs, if available. Keep them at 40°F or below.
• Check refrigerated foods: Discard perishable foods after 4 hours without power unless a cold source has kept them at 40°F or below.
• Check frozen foods: Food that still contains ice crystals or remains at 40°F or below can be refrozen or cooked.
• Never taste food to test its safety: When in doubt, throw it out.

Keep shelf-stable foods your household can eat without cooking, and follow package instructions for storage after opening.

Communication During Outages

Plan more than one way to receive information and contact household members. Test your options before an outage and keep a printed copy of your communication plan.

• Emergency information: Keep a battery-powered radio for local broadcasts. If using NOAA Weather Radio, confirm local reception and learn its alert settings and backup-power requirements.
• Phone contact: Keep messages brief. Text messages may get through when voice calls cannot during network congestion, but delivery is not guaranteed.
• Household coordination: Agree on check-in arrangements, meeting locations and an out-of-area contact.
• Two-way radios: Practice with your equipment and plan for battery charging. Direct radio-to-radio communication can work without household electricity when both radios have power and are within range. Repeaters and internet-linked services depend on additional equipment and power.
• Printed information: Keep important phone numbers, local broadcast frequencies and your household’s agreed radio settings accessible.

Review our Family Communications page to develop your household communication plan. 

Generator Safety

Fuel-powered generators require careful placement, operation and maintenance. Read the owner’s manual before use.

• Operate outdoors only: Keep portable generators at least 20 feet from homes and buildings, with exhaust directed away from windows, doors and vents. Never operate one inside a garage, shed or other enclosed space, even with doors open.
• Maintain carbon monoxide alarms: Install battery-operated alarms or alarms with battery backup on every level and outside sleeping areas. Test them monthly.
• Prevent electrical hazards: Keep the generator dry and follow its wet-weather instructions. Use undamaged outdoor-rated extension cords with sufficient capacity for connected equipment.
• Connect safely: Never plug a generator into a household wall outlet. Have a qualified electrician arrange any connection to household wiring using approved transfer equipment.
• Refuel safely: Turn the generator off and let it cool before adding fuel.
• Store fuel properly: Use approved, labeled containers outside living areas, away from ignition sources, and follow local storage requirements.

If a carbon monoxide alarm sounds or poisoning is suspected, get everyone outside immediately and call 911.

Put Your Power Plan Into Practice

Turn your household’s priorities into a manageable action list.

1. Review what you already own. Locate lights, batteries, chargers and backup equipment. Check their condition and instructions.
2. Identify gaps. List essential devices, their power requirements and how long you need them to operate.
3. Test your arrangements. Practice using lights, charging devices and locating printed instructions before an outage.
4. Plan alternatives. Record where your household could go if essential care, water access or safe indoor conditions cannot be maintained.
5. Keep your plan organized. Store equipment instructions, maintenance dates, emergency contacts and your priority-device list in your Family Preparedness Center™.

Choose your next purchase based on a specific gap in your plan and what your budget allows.

Compare Backup Power Options 

Choose backup equipment around the devices you need to operate and the length of time you need them. Compare power output, battery capacity, recharging options, portability and operating requirements.

Before purchasing, check:

• Whether the equipment supports your devices’ running and startup power requirements.
• Which cables, adapters, panels or other accessories are required.
• How you would recharge or refuel during an extended outage.
• What maintenance, storage and safe operating arrangements are needed.

Product capabilities vary by model. Review the manufacturer’s specifications and instructions rather than relying on a product category or advertised runtime alone.

Explore various alternative power supplies and compare their specifications with your household’s needs. 

Some examples include:

• Solar Panels:  Solar panels convert sunlight into electricity. Use panels compatible with your power station or charging system, including its input limits, connectors and required charging equipment. Output varies with sunlight, shading, weather and placement.   Explore options from BLUETTI, Fremo, Jackery, or Yoshino. 
• Portable Power Stations and Solar Charging Kits: Portable power stations store electricity in rechargeable batteries and supply power through their available outlets and ports. Compatible solar panels can provide a recharging option. Compare output limits, battery capacity, charging requirements and expected runtime for your specific devices. Check whether panels and necessary cables are included.  Explore options from BLUETTI, Fremo, Jackery, or Yoshino.
• Power Banks and Battery Storage:  Power banks can provide backup charging for compatible phones and other small devices. Compare usable capacity, output ports and charging requirements. Keep the correct cables with your equipment and test the combination before relying on it. 

Equipment Protection Options 

EMP Shield offers protection devices for applications including homes, vehicles, generators and solar equipment. Review the specific model’s intended use, installation instructions, published test documentation and warranty terms before purchasing.

For equipment connected to household wiring, consult a qualified electrician about appropriate protection and installation.

Protection equipment does not supply backup electricity or guarantee continued operation during an emergency. Include it as a separate consideration alongside your charging, backup-power and relocation plans.

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Build Your Household Backup Power Plan

FM-006 — Emergency Power Systems™ brings illustrated lessons, real family scenarios and printable planning tools together to help you identify essential power needs and organize your household’s backup-power plan.

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