An electrical outage can be a very inconvenient occurrence. It can bring daily activities to a halt and, depending on its duration, can cause a variety of problems and discomfort. Luckily, there are certain measures that can be taken at home to prepare for a potential electrical outage.
Identifying and managing critical loads should be done prior to an electrical outage. This can be done by separating essential devices from non-essential ones. This will save power while still keeping the important necessities running. Go thru your home and determine what is a Critical Load. This would possibly include; Refrigerators, Freezers, Stove, Water heater, Sump pumps, Well pumps, Medical Devices, Air conditioner for the elderly.
When identifying Critical loads it’s also important to identifying “Convenient Loads”. These are devices that are used as a want and not a need. If you can find an alternative method of achieving a goal, it is a “Convenient load”. You can dry clothes on a clothes line. Lights can be powered by candles, lamps or flashlights. Windows can be opened for a crosswind thru the house. Manual tools or alternate fuels can be used in place of electricity-powered appliances.
Once we have identified our critical loads we need to figure how we will manage them with our emergency power systems. Write a list of what devices will need to be powered, what voltage, and amperage they will need. Along with how many hours a day they need to be ran.
Refrigerators at 500 watts may need to be ran 4 hours a day consuming 2000 watts of power. A freezer may consume 300 watts for 6 hours, using 1800 watts of power. Continue to write your list until you know how many devices and how many watts you will use during an outage. This list will help you correctly size your generator you will need to power your home.
Once you have your list of critical devices you need to be able to easily recognize what is needed during an emergency. The easiest way is to highlight the breakers on your panel schedule as critical loads, these need to be operational when the power goes out.
Another way to easily identify your critical loads is to put them in “critical load” sub-panel. A sub-panel will allow you to have a transfer switch to change from Grid power to an alternative source of power, such as a generator, battery bank, or solar/wind inverters.
Having a generator or standby power source is an excellent way to guarantee power during an outage. Generators come in various sizes and can be used to keep essential items powered. Standby power systems are more costly but offer more convenience and reliability, since they’re automatically activated during an outage. Additionally, a transfer switch or generator interlock can be used to ensure that power is routed from the generator or standby power source to the home’s power system.
Sizing your backup power system is a critical step in determining how your homes power must be managed. With your critical load list in hand, add up how much wattage you will need during an emergency.
My list; 500 watt refrigerator, 2x 300 watt freezer, 1200 watt griddle, 400 watts of light bulbs, 1500 watt space heater or my 1500 watt window air conditioner, 200 watt sump pump, 50 watt phone charger, 1100 watt microwave, 1500 watt electric kettle, 3x 200 watt window exhaust fans, 200 watt fireplace fan
My essential item list adds up to 9300 watts. Luckily I won’t be using all this power all at once, but I do need to figure out which and how many of these items I will running at the same time.
Let’s assume I loose power for a week during a summer heat wave. What will I need to keep on? I could run a window unit in one bedroom, then I will need to keep my refrigerator and freezers running. A few lights to see and cooking with my griddle or microwave(but not at the same time) that’s 4600 watts of power
Then let’s assume it’s middle of February and I loose power during a blizzard. What do I need? Firewood for my fireplace insert and it’s fan, some light. Will add my space heater. The ability to cook. But will I need to power my refrigerator or freezer ? Not really, I could take those perishables and put them outside in the snow temporarily. 3600 watts of power.
Many factors will determine what items you will need to run, and others you can keep off. During the rain months you will probably want a sump pump. Nice sunny days window fans.
With these factors you can size a generator to your power needs. Example; Take all your largest load (ac/heater) at 1500 watts and multiply by 125% = 1875 watts. Then continue to add all your other loads. 300w, 500w, 1200w, 300w, 400w. Totaling 4575 watts. This is the minimum size generator you will need during an outage.
In summary, if you want to prepare for a potential electrical outage at home, consider purchasing a generator or standby power source, installing a transfer switch to route power to the home’s power system, and managing critical loads. The combination of these measures can make way for an effortlessly smooth transition during uncertain times.