This prepper has a very realistic plan for the next grid-down emergency

If your power went out for a full week starting tonight, would you be ready?

Research shows most Americans wouldn’t be. But somewhere between the pandemic, the supply chain chaos, and wildfire seasons that keep getting worse, millions of people started doing something they never thought they'd do:

Prepping.

And no, we’re not talking about the bunker-and-tinfoil-hat version you've seen on reality TV. Blackouts are 20% more common than they were a decade ago, and severe weather events keep breaking records, making preparedness less of a conspiracy and more of a logical step. 

We sat down with Kris, founder of City Prepping—a community and YouTube channel with millions of subscribers—to learn what practical preparedness actually looks like today, and how solar and batteries fit in.

Kris has been in the preparedness space long enough to watch it transform. Before 2020, he said he would keep his channel quiet. Then COVID hit, we saw supply chains buckle, and severe weather seasons getting worse.

“I had a video that was really popular about building a two-week food supply. I saw it become more mainstream at that point,” Kris said. "Now I don't really hear people call it extreme anymore. When I mention I'm a prepper, people say, 'Yeah, I've been wanting to get into that.'"

There are now roughly 23.4 million self-identified preppers in the United States—about 9% of adults—and that number has grown significantly over the last decade. But while more people are thinking about preparedness, research suggests only about 5% are actually ready for a major emergency. It’s Kris’ goal to change that for as many people as possible.

"A phrase we're using more that seems to resonate is: How to give yourself a buffer for things that are rapidly changing,” he said.

A buffer, not a bunker. That's the shift.

Ask any prepper what matters most, and they'll start with the basics: water, food, shelter. But in 2026, power touches nearly everything else on that list.

"Can you live without it? Obviously. But it makes life so much simpler and easier,”  Kris said. “Refrigeration—so many elements that are important, so many core foundations of daily life, are all touched by electricity one way or the other."

Losing power isn't just missing your favorite show. It means losing refrigeration for food and medicine, the ability to charge your phone, temperature control in dangerous heat or cold, and access to powered medical devices. And it's not always an accident.

"Last year, when the wildfires hit LA, they preemptively shut the grid down because the winds were so high, they didn't want anything to catch on fire," Kris explains. "It's becoming more common to have that need for backup power than most people realize."

Utilities across the country have expanded their use of planned shutoffs and rolling blackouts. Meanwhile, the grid is under more strain than it's been in decades, battling with aging infrastructure, surging electricity demand from AI data centers and global electrification.

"The more research we do, the more we realize how vulnerable our grid is right now. The margin for error is beginning to shrink."

For homeowners weighing backup power options, Kris said that solar paired with a home battery typically has a clear advantage over the obvious alternative: a gas generator.

“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."

Historically, the preparedness community had a complicated relationship with solar.

“There was a very strong political element to the preparedness community for years," Kris said. "Solar was seen as a threat. People kind of saw it as the 'other side' is into that. So, I think it was a turnoff for some people."

But because of its sheer ease of use, many preppers have come around to solar. Kris made his first video about a solar generator eight years ago, and it went viral. For a community built around independence, the self-sufficiency case was hard to argue with.

Even for those who find preparedness extreme, Kris says the economics of using solar shouldn’t be underestimated.

He lives in California, where electricity rates are among the highest in the country and where time-of-use pricing means costs spike even higher during peak demand hours. For him, solar and battery storage aren't just emergency tools: They're a financial decision.

"From a practical perspective, the ROI in our area is at least maybe four and a half years for a battery and solar system," he said. "And then you've got a long runway after that. Some of these systems can last 10 years or more, where it's just producing free electricity at that point."

That tracks with what we see on the EnergySage Marketplace, where cost savings is the number-one reason homeowners install a battery—cited by 30% of shoppers—with backup power coming in close behind at 26%. In many cases, the two motivations are inseparable.

Kris's own house has run for over a month without pulling from the grid. He's still technically grid-tied, but between his solar panels and battery storage, he rarely needs it.

He's also honest about what full energy independence actually costs. For many homeowners, going completely off-grid—powering an average-sized home with no connection to your local power grid—typically runs well over $100,000.

"It definitely takes money to build a system that can really take you off-grid," Kris says.

But you don't have to go that far to get real value. A recent study of more than half a million homes found that 63% of Americans can afford enough solar and battery backup to keep at least half their essential appliances running during an outage. Even a simple home battery—without any solar—can cover the basics for days: a running refrigerator, a charged phone, a medical device, a sump pump, and your WiFi.

But, if you add solar panels, your battery recharges every day—potentially extending that coverage indefinitely. At the end of the day, Kris said it comes down to these two things:

“What are your priorities, and how much are you willing to spend? Those two things dictate which direction you go."

What stood out most in talking with Kris wasn't the gear lists or the ROI math. It was his tone. He doesn't talk about prepping with urgency or fear, or an impending “doomsday.” He talks about it the way most of us think about home insurance.

"If there's any kind of earthquake or fires or anything, if the grid goes down, we don't have to worry about that," he said. "It's kind of taken me out of that realm of having to be concerned about all the variables I can't control.”

You don't have to call yourself a prepper. But if you want a little more control and a meaningful buffer between your families and whatever comes next, solar and home batteries are one of the most practical ways to get there.