Change of Address: 10 Types of Emergency Power for Your Home

10 Types of Emergency Power for Your Home

Whether you live in an area of the country with power grid problems (brownouts, blackouts, etc.) or you just want to be prepared for emergencies it’s good to look at the types of emergency power available. Not too long ago I experienced a natural disaster that took out power to my home as well as several of my neighbors and friends. Fortunately, I had a couple of alternate power sources available to me in a gas generator and a marine battery power inversion system. I made it through the power outage without too much difficulty due to a little bit of advanced planning. So I thought that I would outline 7 types of emergency power you might want to consider for your home below:

Standard batteries. It’s always a good idea to keep an ample supply of various battery sizes. I can tell you that right before and during a natural disaster these will be nearly impossible to find at any local store. So make sure you have plenty of D, C, 9-volt, AA, and AAA batteries on hand. This sounds so basic, but believe me you will feel like a genius when the time comes if you have these on hand (watch your expiration dates).

Kinetic energy products. Another very basic but important way to conserve other power sources in an emergency is to purchase kinetic radios, flashlights, and other small products that you can power with your own body (walking, turning handles, etc.). I like several of the products at http://www.ecogadgets.com and you may want to start there for some ideas.

Marine battery power inversion system. Okay, this is a super simple way to get some really clean power that can run a few lights, fan, or even a super small fridge (depending on the inverter). You need a marine deep cycle battery, a power inverter, and some power/extension cords. I definitely recommend buying an inverter with attached cables to make life super easy on yourself (but you can make your own cables if you need to by visiting any auto parts store). This site offers great information on how to use both marine and car battery power inverters: http://www.donrowe.com/inverters/inverter_faq.html.

Solar powered battery inversion system (DIY). This is pretty much exactly the same as the marine battery power inversion system but you use a solar panel to charge the deep-cycle battery giving you a continuous power source. You can get great instructions for this here: http://www.rain.org/~philfear/how2solar.html.

Solar power complete kits. So let’s say you want a complete turnkey solar solution and are uncomfortable with having a deep-cycle battery around your home or garage. You can easily purchase some great pre-made solar power solutions like the one’s found here for camping, mountain climbing, etc.: http://www.goal0.com/. These look awesome and super easy to store and move around.

Gasoline or diesel generators. This is the approach that I have currently. I have a gasoline generator that is relatively easy and SUPER LOUD. The only challenge with these generators is making sure you have enough fuel on hand to run them and generally speaking in emergencies gas and diesel fuel go pretty quickly. They also need to be ran in a well-ventilated area (outside) to avoid dangers related to the fumes they produce.

LP generators. If I could afford one of these, I would absolutely have a natural gas generator (or solar system as noted below) as a backup for my home. It’s obviously not a green solution but they are readily available and with a professional install can keep your whole home running like normal. If you want complete home coverage this is an option you should consider.

Propane generators. If you are in rural areas natural gas may just not be an option for you making the next choice a propane generator. You can get information on both LP and propane generators at this site: http://www.poweredgenerators.com/propane/home.html. Of course, they also have links to several dealers to help make this a reality for you.

Solar panel home systems. So what I am talking about is really a solar panel based system to provide partial or full power to your entire home. This is also a relatively expensive proposition but certainly is an effective way to keep your home powered in an emergency (coupled with year-round savings). This site offers a review of 10 different home solar power products: http://solar.calfinder.com/blog/products/top-10-home-solar-power-products/.

Home wind turbines/generators. This is closer to a complete power replacement system than it is purely an emergency use. Most likely if you are investing in a wind turbine you are either VERY serious about green energy or you live in a remote area and just need a permanent alternate clean power source. Here is an example page for homes and small businesses: http://www.bergey.com/. There are plenty of other options so start searching and find yourself a good deal.

You can definitely invest a lot in various sources of emergency power. It is important though before you go out and plunk down your hard-earned cash that you know close to how much power you are actually going to need to properly size your system. How many appliances are you going to want to run and for how long? Once you have that information you can calculate how many watts you will need and then purchase a system that can support your emergency needs.