The short answer

Write down what must continue during an outage, then match each need to a safe backup. Keep lights, charged power banks, a radio, appliance thermometers, water, familiar food, and written contacts ready. Make a professional plan for powered medical equipment. Never use fuel-burning equipment indoors or near doors, windows, or vents.

Plan around consequences, not gadgets

List what changes after two hours, twelve hours, and two days without electricity. Consider extreme heat or cold, refrigerated medicine, medical equipment, well pumps, elevators, garage doors, cooking, security, work, and children’s routines. Decide where you would go if the home could no longer remain at a safe temperature.

Medical power comes first: Confirm backup batteries, safe charging, runtime, transport, and outage procedures with the clinician and equipment provider. A consumer power station is not automatically a medical backup system.

01

Set up the home before the lights go out

  • Place flashlights or headlamps where everyone can find them
  • Charge power banks and label the cables they support
  • Enable local emergency alerts and keep a battery or hand-crank radio
  • Install and test smoke and carbon-monoxide alarms with battery backup
  • Keep appliance thermometers in the refrigerator and freezer
  • Learn how to open the garage and building exits without power
  • Write utility, building, medical, and family contact numbers on paper

Choose low-power priorities in advance. Phones, medical devices, a small light, and a radio usually matter more than trying to run every appliance.

02

Use a simple outage routine

Confirm whether the outage is limited to your home, report it to the utility, and follow official alerts. Unplug sensitive electronics if surges are a concern. Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed. Use flashlights before candles. Check on household members, neighbors, and pets who may be vulnerable to heat, cold, or a dark building.

Do not use a gas oven to heat the home. Never run a vehicle in an attached garage. If the home becomes dangerously hot or cold, move to a safer location rather than improvising combustion heat indoors.

03

Protect food with time and temperature

USDA guidance says an unopened refrigerator keeps food safely cold for about four hours. A full freezer holds temperature for about 48 hours, or about 24 hours when half full, if the door stays closed. Use an appliance thermometer and move perishables to a cooler with ice when needed. Never taste food to judge whether it is safe.

When in doubt, throw it out: Appearance and smell do not reliably show whether food can cause illness.

04

Treat backup power as an electrical and combustion system

For portable batteries, calculate the continuous watts and watt-hours required by the specific loads. Leave a margin for startup surges and conversion losses. Follow the manufacturer’s manual, charging limits, ventilation guidance, storage temperature, and recall information.

CDC guidance says portable generators and other fuel-burning engines belong outside, at least 20 feet from windows, doors, and vents. Use battery-powered or battery-backup carbon-monoxide detectors. Never connect a generator directly to home wiring unless a qualified electrician has installed the appropriate transfer equipment. Keep equipment dry and follow local codes and manufacturer instructions.

Outage checklist

Make the first dark hour boring.

Primary sources

Safety guidance checked October 12, 2026. Follow current local instructions during an outage.

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