To summarize:
Calculate your electricity usage correctly
To prepare for a power outage, you must first determine your usage and what to continue to use in the event of a power outage. What’s important, what’s important, what’s substitutable, and what you can’t use?
We recommend that you make an inventory of all your appliances and note the maximum power consumption and the power consumption over a 24-hour period. Then add all these values together and you will get the maximum energy consumption as well as the energy consumption per time. The next point is how many hours or days you want to last. For example, a medium-sized refrigerator of (new) energy efficiency class A consumes about 250 Wh per day. So with the Bluetti EB3A and its 268 Wh you will be able to last about a day, but it will no longer have any autonomy.
Prolonged power outages are unlikely. Jens Langbecker, head of the main control room at German grid operator TransnetBW, said a breakdown of the grid out of control would require “a catastrophe like a storm or an attack”.
With solar panels you can even be permanently independent from the grid / © kwgeek
Have proper energy reserves in case of emergency
After determining your needs, you can choose the right accumulator according to your needs. In particular, there are two important indicators: capacity and maximum output power. The maximum output power represents the energy that the power station can provide in an instant. Capacity indicates how long your device can be powered.
Therefore, the estimate of maximum output power should not be too accurate, as many devices cause power spikes at startup.
If you have something that absolutely has to work uninterrupted, make sure the powerstation can be used as a UPS, ie uninterruptible power supply. This means it can be plugged between the grid and your appliances; and it can take over immediately in the event of a power failure. This is important, for example, for servers that may lose data in the event of a power outage.
Install a solar installation on the roof or install a mobile power station on the balcony, as long as the weather is good and the solar panels provide enough energy, you can also be self-sufficient.
In the following sections, we’ve listed for you the most important product categories to consider when preparing for a power outage. If we forgot something, don’t hesitate to tell us your review in the comments!
Important equipment during a power outage
While you can (probably) go without Netflix etc for a few hours, there are indeed some important devices that can become critical very quickly in the event of a power outage. Here are the devices you absolutely need to consider when preparing for a power outage.
medical equipment
First, do you have critical medical equipment in your home that requires electricity to operate? For example, this could be a home dialysis machine, a stair lift or a nursing bed. Check your device’s peak power and power consumption over a 24-hour period.
For example, many stair lifts have built-in batteries that can run for a period of time in the event of a power outage. In the manufacturer’s documentation you will find more information on range and power consumption. It should definitely be taken into account that mechanical equipment can also cause power spikes at startup, which can overload many power stations. So it’s best to inflate peak power estimates a bit and test your plant before a real emergency.
pet or farm animal
Besides people, other residents of the house may also need electricity. In an aquarium, for example, power failures and heating and circulation pumps can happen after an hour or two, depending on the fish. Reptiles in terrariums can also feel uncomfortable without heating, just like chickens in a coop without ventilation. When it comes to complex assemblies with many individual components, smart sockets with energy monitors help determine consumption.
From USB-C to 230 V sockets: The Bluetti EB55 has just about every socket you could want. / © kwgeek
Basic appliances for lighting, electricity, heating and more
Refrigerator and Freezer
Modern freezers and refrigerators are insulated so well that even hours of power outages are not a problem. Depending on the insulation, the temperature in the freezer will remain negative for 5 to 24 hours. If it’s cold outside, you can of course also put food on the balcony. Once thawed, it’s best to keep as cool as possible and ready within 24 hours.
For added safety, you can of course use a power station to power the refrigerator, especially if you store vital medicines there (like insulin). Check how much energy your refrigerator consumes and what is the maximum power your compressor draws, again inflating your estimates.
Kitchen Appliances
The easiest way to heat water and food during a power outage is to use a camping stove. However, you will need to have a balcony or patio as it is not recommended in enclosed rooms. Otherwise, you can cook with a kettle, microwave or even a mobile stove. In this case, energy consumption is typically between 500 and 2000 W, with power peaks usually occurring at startup, which, if calculated inaccurately, can overload the power station.
heating
When a power outage occurs, heating is generally also affected. Not only heat pumps, but also gas or oil heaters require electricity to operate. Although a bit complicated due to typical fixed wiring, you could theoretically operate a gas or oil heater with a power station. Only the fireplace (usually) works without external power at all.
Alternatively, a fan heater can conveniently heat at least one room. But for this you will need a power station with a strong output. A typical fan heater is 500 to 2000 watts. The same applies to mobile water heaters that produce hot water for toilets.
The Bluetti EB55’s lamp can be used not only as a flashlight, but also as a reading lamp or desk lamp. / © kwgeek
light
As long as you don’t plug the powerstation directly into the electrical box, the fixed lighting in the room will no longer work in the event of a power outage. But you can certainly hook up all the lights in your home to a power station and thus light up the room.
Also, flashlights (very flexible) and camping lights (more comfortable permanent lighting) are interesting options. Consider which diet you prefer. With AA batteries you are free and can buy additional batteries. On the other hand, with the built-in battery and USB port, you can also charge your flashlight or camping light at the power station.
communicate
Your smartphone uses relatively little power compared to a stair lift or water heater, but it’s not necessarily useful, at least during a prolonged power outage. Most cell towers have backup power reserves of several hours. If lost, smartphone reception will also be interrupted. In this case, it makes more sense to use the FM or DAB+ emergency radio to listen to the information. If you want to play the safety card, you’re going to have to buy a hand-cranked solar radio or one with a lot of autonomy.
Prepare Your Connected Home for Power Outages
In addition to the elements mentioned above, there are other challenges to overcome in the context of this winter power outage. After all, our homes are becoming more connected and therefore more dependent on electricity. In the event of an outage, the internet connection may also be disrupted. Even with powerstation, connected devices that rely on cloud connectivity will no longer work.
Shutdown and Alarm System
Do you have a networked lock or alarm system installed in your home? You should check what happens in the event of a power outage. Most smart locks are battery powered and have Bluetooth, so you should be able to access your home even if the power fails. If this is not the case, you absolutely must have a classic key. Also make sure your alarm system works properly in the event of a power outage.
Lighting, voice commands, and more
If there is a power outage in your home, your connected home will be unavailable. Most wireless systems use Wi-Fi, so you can turn your Philips Hue lights on and off from your smartphone, even if you’re only powering the router. That won’t work with voice assistants, though, because voice commands are processed in the cloud. The only exception is Siri, which also works locally at least.
The Bluetti EP500 can store 5000 Wh, so it can power an entire home for hours or even days. / © Bruti
entertainment
Whether it’s a TV, game console or media server, if you don’t…