How to prepare for a power outage

Most people don't look up "how to prepare for a power outage" for fun. You look it up because the power is out right now and you want to protect your home and appliances, or because a storm is on the radar and you want to get ahead of it. We've organized this guide the way you'd actually use it: What to do while the lights are off, then how to make sure you're not scrambling next time.

1. Check if it's just you

Before you do anything else, glance out the window. If your neighbors' lights are on, the problem is probably a tripped breaker or a blown fuse. Head to your electrical panel, look for a switch that's flipped to the middle or off position, and reset it by pushing it firmly to off, then back to on. If that doesn't fix it, or if the whole block is dark, it's time to report the outage.

Most utilities let you report outages online, through an app, or by phone, and many post live outage maps so you can see how many customers are affected and get an estimated restoration time. Don’t call 911 unless there’s an actual emergency, like a downed power line or a medical situation.

2. Unplug large electronics and appliances

Power often comes back with a brief surge, and that surge can fry anything plugged in. Unplug or turn off major appliances, computers, TVs, and other sensitive devices, and leave one lamp plugged in so you'll know the moment power returns. If you have central air conditioning, switch it off at the thermostat; that prevents a damaging surge to the compressor when the grid comes back.

3. Keep your food safe

It can be tempting to open your fridge to check on things. Don't. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a closed refrigerator keeps food at a safe temperature for about four hours, and a full freezer holds for roughly 48 hours (24 if it's only half full). Every time you open the door, that window shrinks.

If the outage lasts more than four hours, move refrigerated perishables (meat, dairy, eggs, leftovers) into a cooler packed with ice. Frozen food that still has ice crystals or reads 40°F or below on a thermometer is safe to refreeze or cook, even if its texture takes a hit. And remember: when in doubt, throw it out.

4. Stay warm or stay cool, safely

The temperature of your home isn’t just about comfort; it can get dangerous, especially for kids, older adults, and anyone with a chronic health condition.

In cold weather

• Put on warm layers.

• Close off unused rooms.

• Gather in one smaller room to share body heat.

• If you have a properly vented fireplace or wood stove, use it according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

• Don’t heat your home with a gas oven, charcoal grill, or a camp stove—they’re the leading cause of carbon monoxide poisoning during outages, but you won’t smell it coming.

In hot weather

• Close your blinds during the day to block direct sun.

• Open your windows in the evening if it’s cooler outside than inside.

If you’re using a portable generator, keep it at least 20 feet from your home with exhaust pointing away from windows, doors, and vents. A generator running in a garage, even with the door open, can push lethal levels of carbon monoxide into your house within minutes, and you won't see, smell, or taste it happening. Install battery-backed CO detectors on every level of your home, and let the generator cool completely before adding fuel, or you risk starting a fire.

6. Keep phones and medical devices running

Set your phone to low-power mode immediately and limit use to texts and check-ins rather than calls or scrolling. Texts have a better chance of getting through if cell towers are overloaded. If you or someone in your home relies on electric medical equipment, like a CPAP machine or a home oxygen concentrator, that's exactly the kind of load a small backup battery or power station is built for.

7. Know when to leave

If it’s a short outage, staying put is usually the right move. But if extreme cold or heat sets in with no end date, if you’re relying on medication that requires refrigeration, or if your home has no safe way to stay temperature-controlled, it’s better to leave and find somewhere with power rather than wait it out.

Short outages, the kind caused by a tripped breaker, a squirrel on a transformer, or a quick equipment fix, are usually measured in minutes. Storm-driven outages are a different story. 

The average length of the longest power outages increased to 12.8 hours in 2025—a big jump from 8.1 hours in 2022. Take major storms out of the equation, and the typical customer loses only about two hours a year. But when storms hit, they hit hard: customers in South Carolina averaged nearly 53 hours without power in 2024 alone.

Outages may not be constant. But when they do become multi-day events, most households aren’t ready for them. Fortunately, that’s a solvable problem.

Once your current outage is handled—or if you're reading this ahead of one—this is the ultimate power outage checklist to work through on a slow weekend.

Power outages are 20% more common than they were a decade ago and are lasting longer. If you’ve been through an extended outage, you’ve likley dealt with the consequences of spoiled groceries, uncomfortable temperatures, or worse. People who’ve been through it understand that having accessible backup power isn’t just a nice-to-have: It’s become a necessity.

The two main options—generators or batteries—work in pretty different ways, and one tends to reign supreme.

Generators run on gasoline, propane, or natural gas, and they've been the default backup option for decades. They're relatively cheap to buy, widely available at hardware stores, and can put out enough power to run a whole house if you get a large enough unit. 

The trade-offs: they require certain fuels you have to purchase and store ahead of time (or you risk being left in a pinch during a widespread outage), they're loud, they produce toxic fumes that require careful placement, and they need regular maintenance to operate reliably when you actually need them.

Home batteries store electricity in advance and release it automatically when the grid goes down, with no fumes, no noise, and no refueling. On its own, a battery holds a finite charge. But if paired with solar panels, it can recharge every day the sun is out, which makes a huge difference during long outages. 

The trade-offs: they cost more upfront than a comparable generator (unless you get a small portable battery), and a battery without solar will eventually run down if the outage lasts longer than it can hold a charge.

When we spoke with preparedness expert Kris, founder of City Prepping, he told us that he has a strong preference for solar and batteries over generators because they’re more self-sufficient and easier to use.

“You can set up solar panels and a battery system with an inverter. You're not relying on fuel that's limited. It produces no noise, no fumes. And if you're concerned about drawing attention to yourself after an emergency by firing up a generator, you don't have to deal with that."

A generator might make more sense if you need to run heavy equipment occasionally and want to keep upfront costs low. But a battery, especially when paired with solar, tends to make more sense if you experience frequent outages, want hands-off backup, or want to stop thinking about fuel entirely.

For a full breakdown of the cost, capacity, and maintenance differences, EnergySage has a dedicated guide comparing home batteries and generators. If you're just starting to research storage in general, our home battery guide walks through how the systems work, what they cost, and how to size one for your home.

Power outages aren't going away, and depending on where you live, they may be showing up more often than they used to. Most of what makes an outage manageable, rather than miserable, comes down to a handful of decisions you can make while the lights are still on.