We live in a very sunny area of a very sunny state with no VERY cold and no VERY hot weather. We have some PV and solar panels for power & hot water, respectively.
We have power outages with increasing frequency as our electrical grid is aging. The last significant outage was 89 hours with Tropical Storm Lala.
Our state has decided to eliminate the tax rebates for PV/solar for residences. We are starting to explore possibly purchasing one or more backup batteries for fridge power. I also have medical equipment that is able to run all night on the 500 watt power station I currently have.
Does anyone have any great electric battery backup they’d recommend? Ive been doing a lot of research and gotten quotes on expanding PV panels on our roof and a whole home battery but so far it hadn’t appealed (especially with no tax rebates). We are thinking of standalone batteries, possibly with a few panels we can use to recharge on our lawn or carport.
We are (supposedly) under contract for two Tesla batteries to go with our solar. We signed the contract in March…and we are still waiting for the final approval and installation.
We have been told that these two will power our house for about 36 hours, and maybe longer depending on how much power we actually use during an outage.
We also have a generator (portable but large enough to power the whole house mostly). But the batteries will give us some time to get this going. And if the outage is a shorter one, we won’t need the generator at all.
You can get a portable gas generator if you don’t need to power alot. Your electrician can create a single switch, wired to critical items, if you don’t want to run extension cords through the house.
Not discouraging you from batteries or a bigger generator, but the cost differential, for the amount of time you need it, is worth considering. (We use a portable generator to run our water pump, heat, fridge, and small kitchen appliances (including microwave) + lights, tv, etc.
It never feels perfect, but the difference in cost for our home was about $25000.
I have been looking for a battery back up for my mother’s portable oxygen concentrator (POC) for the occasion times she has power outages. I don’t want to spend a lot, as we are talking using possibly twice a year. She has a plug in large unit, so this is only to be be used IF her power goes out and she needs to use her POC. Her battery on the unut only givers her about 3 hours if we are lucky.
I have seen battery backups specifically for a POC, at a high cost, but don’t believe this is what she has to have. She is in an IL apartment, so it has to be something she can plug in herself in her unit; nothing outside. With the last potentiality storm, we had the manager bring her down the the main floor as they have a generator there, but it wasn’t needed, and also don’t like depending on them. Mom is on a rollator, so getting her down the stair would require the fire department. I need something in her room.
What battery back up would give us the longest use? For those that this means anything (and that wouldn’t be me) her DC Input is: 11 to 16 V and DC Output: 19 V 6.3 A. I am sure Amazon has what I need, but a bit overwhelmed by the options!
I know my brother installed a UPS on our mother’s oxygen concentrator. I don’t know how long it was designed to last, but she also had multiple oxygen tanks she could connect to during an extended outage. She had both the small portable ones and the large tanks on wheels. She was terrified of losing access to oxygen.
@Cruiser933 Mom does have 3 portable tanks that give her about 3 hours each. The problem is, she doesn’t have the strength to turn them on, or place the cannula on it. Of course I could leave a cannula attached, but she would still need to be able to turn it on. Her large, everyday plug in unit and her POC, has a simple on/off switch, so those she can handle.
This is only a problem during a storm when a family member could not come pick her up to go their their house, assume they have power. Mom does not do well without oxygen; she drops her O2 quickly.
I bought a 10-15# duracell power station that can run my POC for over 8 hours. It is light enough for me to carry cand to recharge I plug it into the wall (when there is power). I holds the charge for nearly a year, in standby.
There are many other brands but I bought what Costco had (it was on coupon and <$400 years ago). I also have a bunch of batteries that power my POC, so I’m in good shape as long as someone has power so I can recharge my depleted power station and batteries. I do NOT have any O2 tanks and my supplier doesn’t offer them.
There are a number of lighter power stations like the duracell in various brands that could work just as well or better. My power bank can also charge phones & small appliances & electronics.
i did get some quotes for a large home battery but they were talking about mounting the panels on the eastern facing portion of our roof (where our neighbor had a huge tree that shades a portion of it), or adding the panels here and there where they MAY fit. None of those arrangements seemed attractive but there are already panels on the roof and not so much roof space.
At this point we are thinking of perhaps one or several electric batteries. As I’m not terribly strong, I was thinking under 40# apiece.
H has had experience with gas generators at his workplace and is not a fan due to ongoing maintenance that he’s not a fan of.
On my to-do list is to find a method to power our modem when the power goes out. Since our utility cables are underground, it does not happen much… but it was out for 2 hours last month, made me realize our Verizon phone service not so good without the modem/wife.
Our EV does not make it easy, but we got an inverter and figured out how to use the battery to power a heavy duty extension cord. Won’t run the whole house but can run my husband’s CPAP and keep the fridge cool for a while. Fortunately we don’t get many outages and only 1 in the past decade has lasted over 24 hours.
Same here. Our truck has an onboard inverter that can power the fridges. We will likely get a more permanent setup next year - with the EV working as a battery backup.
Can you post what inverter you bought for your vehicle and what heavy duty extension cord? I have a hybrid Prius Prime, that I COULD use in a pinch. So far, haven’t needed to, but it’s nice to know what gear I might need if we want to keep food from spoiling in fridge and if I need to recharge my 500 watt battery.
Costco said they had a surprise shipment of Jackery products that all sold out in an hour this morning. Oh well, I’m glad for that I have.
From what I’ve been reading the Anker S2000 is a nice unit and should power a fridge for 24-39 hrs, depending on the fridge and how often doors are opened probably. H doesn’t want to buy any backup at this time, so it seems we are destined to wait a bit longer. Lowe’s is selling the unit w/o solar panels, so that’s not as helpful anyway for self-sufficiency.
Yea, H says it’s not worth it—we want to use the car as a car. We are ok with that and definitely do NOT have a F150 and no use for a truck in our lives. We are fine—just puzzling.
