Solar Emergency Power Gear: Top 4 Setups for Storm Readiness

How Solar Emergency Power Keeps Your Home Running

Solar emergency power can keep important appliances, communication equipment, lighting, and medical devices operating during blackouts, hurricanes, and other grid failures.

Use the calculator below to estimate the battery capacity, continuous output, startup surge, outage duration, and solar-recharging requirements for the appliances you plan to operate.

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Storm Ready Home backup power planner

Find My Backup Power System

Tell us what you need to keep running and how long you want backup. This live-test release calculates one governed 120 V AC base-station plan and checks only currently eligible station-only offers.

Battery size is about energy used over time. Continuous output must cover the largest individual load and every declared simultaneous group. For this safe-core release, a startup event must fit within verified continuous output; special boost and short-peak claims are not used.

Find My Backup Power System

1. Choose your outage duration

Outage duration in days Temperature derating (%) Battery aging derating (%) Efficiency assumption (%) Reserve assumption (%)

2. Add starter estimates

These presets are starting estimates. Your actual device may use more or less power. Use the appliance label, EnergyGuide label, manual, or a plug-in watt meter when accuracy matters.

Add Router / modem Not added Add LED lamp Not added Add Phone charger Not added Add Small fan Not added Add Laptop Not added Add TV Not added Add Freezer Not added Add Microwave Not added Add Sump pump Not added

View selected appliances

Peak power setting

Battery capacity is based on how long each device runs. Peak running watts are based on what may be on at the same time.

Peak load means what could be running at the same time. Leave an item checked if it may be plugged in while your other selected items are running. Uncheck it only if you plan to rotate or unplug it before using other heavy loads.

Rows default to checked for a safer first estimate, but you can edit each row.

Refrigerator helper

Use one energy basis. Refrigerator energy is not estimated as running watts times 24 hours. Startup surge is tracked separately.

Energy basis Do not include refrigerator Annual kWh from EnergyGuide label Measured daily kWh Running watts with estimated duty cycle Conservative preset estimate Annual kWh Measured daily kWh Running watts Estimated duty cycle (%) Startup/surge watts May run at the same time as other selected items

Refrigerators and freezers cycle on and off. Their startup surge can happen while other items are already running. Only uncheck this if you know this appliance will not be running while the other selected loads are on.

CPAP helper

This is a planning estimate, not a medical guarantee. Verify medically important power needs from the device label, manufacturer, or healthcare provider.

Include CPAP estimate Machine watts Hours per night Nights to cover Humidifier/tubing note Not sure yet Heated humidifier/tubing off or not used Heated humidifier or tubing on Power method note Unknown AC inverter Direct DC adapter if available May run at the same time as other selected items

CPAP power use varies by machine, pressure, humidifier, heated tubing, and power method. Confirm your machine’s requirements before relying on any backup power plan.

3. Review selected appliances

Every added item appears here. Review the starting values and use model-specific surge data for motors, compressors, pumps, and microwaves.

Add a custom appliance

4. Would you like solar recharging?

You don’t need to know panel watts, voltage, current, connectors, or wiring. The calculator checks those details against the verified catalog.

Yes No Not sure

5. What matters most to you?

Optional. Choose any priorities that matter.

Easier to carry More battery reserve Faster wall recharge Apartment-friendly RV-friendly Longer outage protection No preference

Calculate backup power estimate Reset calculator

Storm Ready Home backup power estimate

Your backup power planning estimate

This governed estimate separates delivered energy, nominal battery capacity, continuous AC output, and startup-event demand. Solar, expansion, direct-DC product matching, and 240 V systems remain disabled until their complete component rules are reverified.

Enter at least one appliance or choose a preset to estimate battery capacity, continuous output, and startup surge.

Ready to check verified systems. Complete the questions above to see exact qualifying models from the approved catalog.

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Reliable Solar Emergency Power Gear for Blackouts and Storms

Solar emergency power gear can help households stay connected and operate essential equipment during grid failures. Whether you are preparing for a hurricane, a heat-related outage, or an unexpected interruption, a properly sized portable power station provides quiet, battery-based power without fuel combustion.

Unlike fuel-powered generators, portable power stations do not produce exhaust while operating. They can be used indoors when operated according to the manufacturer’s instructions, although solar panels must still be positioned where they can receive appropriate sunlight and remain protected from unsafe weather exposure.

The U.S. Department of Energy and Ready.gov power-outage guidance encourage households to plan for communication, refrigeration, medical needs, lighting, and other essential services before an outage occurs.

This guide organizes portable backup power into four general levels: light, medium, heavy-duty, and larger home-backup systems. These ranges are only starting points. Appliance runtime, startup surge, simultaneous loads, efficiency losses, temperature, battery age, voltage requirements, and solar recovery can change the system you need.

Use the Solar Generator Calculator

The calculator at the top of this page evaluates the appliances you select, how long they will operate, which loads may run together, and how many days of backup you want. It separates battery capacity from continuous inverter output and startup surge before displaying qualifying options.

Return to the Solar Generator Calculator

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Light Solar Emergency Power Gear

Light portable power stations are suited to short outages and low-demand electronics. They may be useful for renters, college students, remote workers, campers, and households that mainly need communication and lighting.

Typical uses include charging phones, operating LED lights, supporting a Wi-Fi router, or powering another small electronic device. Actual runtime depends on the appliance load, battery capacity, conversion efficiency, and the amount of reserve left in the battery.

• General capacity range: Approximately 300 to 600 Wh
• Common uses: Phones, lights, routers, radios, tablets, and small fans
• Important limitation: Many small stations cannot start refrigerators, pumps, microwaves, or other high-surge appliances

Ready.gov recommends planning for lighting and communication during an outage. A smaller power station may meet those basic needs without the weight or cost of a larger appliance-backup system.

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Medium Solar Emergency Power Gear

Medium-capacity portable power stations are designed for households that need to operate several electronic devices or selected small appliances during an outage.

This range may support refrigeration, communication equipment, lighting, charging stations, televisions, laptops, or similar loads when the station’s continuous and startup output are sufficient.

• General capacity range: Approximately 1,000 to 1,800 Wh
• Common uses: Refrigerators, mini refrigerators, routers, lights, televisions, laptops, and device charging
• Check before buying: Refrigerator startup surge, appliance duty cycle, continuous output, and expected daily energy use

A capacity label alone does not confirm that a portable power station can start or operate a particular appliance. Use the calculator’s running-load and startup-surge results when comparing products.

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Heavy-Duty Solar Emergency Power Gear

Heavy-duty portable power stations provide greater battery capacity and inverter output for households with refrigeration, selected medical equipment, cooking appliances, pumps, or several loads that may operate during the same period.

These systems can still have important limits. Voltage requirements, startup surge, transfer equipment, maximum output, outlet ratings, solar-input limits, and the electrical requirements of each appliance must be checked before purchase.

• General capacity range: Approximately 2,000 to 3,000 Wh
• Common uses: Refrigerators, freezers, CPAP equipment, microwaves, selected pumps, home-office equipment, and multiple smaller loads
• Important checks: Startup surge, simultaneous running load, voltage, expansion support, and solar recovery

For medical equipment, verify the exact electrical requirements with the device manufacturer and do not rely solely on a general planning estimate.

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Whole-Home Solar Emergency Power Backup

Larger home-backup systems can provide substantially more storage and output than ordinary portable power stations. Some systems support expansion batteries, higher solar input, split-phase configurations, or connections to selected household circuits.

These systems are not automatically capable of operating every appliance in a home. Central air conditioning, electric water heaters, electric ranges, well pumps, sump pumps, and other high-demand equipment can require substantial running power, startup surge, 240-volt support, or professionally installed transfer equipment.

• General capacity range: Approximately 4,000 Wh and above
• Possible uses: Larger appliance groups, longer outages, expansion-battery systems, and selected household circuits
• Professional review may be required: Transfer switches, power inlets, 240-volt equipment, permanent wiring, and whole-home integration

The U.S. Department of Energy homeowner guidance provides additional information about residential solar and energy-storage planning.

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Download the Storm-Ready Home Checklist

Trusted Government Resources

• Power Outage Safety Tips from Ready.gov
• CDC Power Outage Safety Guidance
• NOAA Hurricane Preparedness Guidance
• FEMA Power Outage Preparation Guidance