Power outages quickly become problematic. It would be nice to have an option for reserve power at home when that happens.
Most outages seem to last about a day. I have been through a week-long outage at least once in my life. Would like a lot of spare capacity, though. Does "a lot" mean three days, one week, two weeks, a month? What's the order of magnitude of expense between each versus the likelihood of needing the contingency?
Endangered essentials roughly include:
- refrigerator
- freezer
- my CPAP at night
- furnace
- AC
- lights
- phone charging
- laptop charging
On generators:
- I've had one before, I don't have one now.
- Generators go outside, are noisy, can attract attention, can be stolen.
- Needs fuel that can be hard to keep on hand and fresh.
- Acquiring fuel leads to contending with others who also need fuel
- at best, a long wait at gas station
- at worst, getting stuck in a crowd where bad things happen.
- I know there are permanent installation gas whole-house backup generators, but those are spendy.
- Fuel options
- Gasoline - gas station within walking distance, but it goes stale
- Propane - never dealt with it. Does it go stale? Dangerous to keep around?
- House gas line - assuming it's still working during power outage, possible for a temporary hookup to a portable generator? Bad idea?
- Grill line is probably too small, need special attention to the pressure draw of the generator and ensure it doesn't starve other things in the house
On batteries:
- Haven't dealt with them with respect to a whole-house AC scenario
- Seems like batteries are nice to keep topped up so that when the supply goes out, they're ready to be used.
- Batteries need maintenance - not sure of particulars, would imagine not as bad as keeping fuel on hand?
- More expensive than generator + fuel?
- Shopping ideas?
On solar:
- Have never dealt with solar.
- Short of a major project on the roof, would it be useful to have a few panels to put outside in a pinch to bolster batteries?
Hybrid notions:
- A few days' worth of battery storage to give breathing room?
- A fuel-flexible generator to support batteries when fuel is more easily acquired?
- Would like to be able to shelter-in-place and lay low during instability events for as long as possible to avoid crowds, panic, and rushed thinking
- Some solar panels to charge as possible?
Random notes & links, which are probably inaccurate as heck:
- Tesla Powerwall - 1 day backup - $12,000. Add 2 more days with solar for $16,400 more.
- Generac - $9999, 18kWh, 9kW, 50A