From fridge to full house: The smart shopper's backup-power guide
(BPT) - If the power were to go out right now, how long could you keep your refrigerator cold? According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, you've got just four hours without power before refrigerated perishable foods like meat, poultry, fish, eggs and leftovers spoil and must be thrown out. If you store insulin or temperature-sensitive medication, you might have to throw those out as well, posing a possible medical risk.
Power outages vary by region and cause. That said, given the average U.S. electricity customer experienced 5.5 hours of power interruption in 2022, it can be a gamble whether the lights will turn back on before your food spoils.
The good news is that you can keep your fridge running even when the lights go out with a backup battery system. However, that raises the question: what size battery do you need to power your fridge?
"The goal isn't to buy the biggest battery," said Beau, Jackery's in-house former licensed electrician. "When choosing a home backup solution, it's best to choose one that fits the way your household will use it. A household that plans to power just the fridge during a short power outage won't need the same battery capacity as a household that plans to power a fridge and other essentials for several days."
Matching the backup to your household needs
To determine what size battery backup you'll need during an outage, you'll need to understand the difference between a few important terms:
- Essential loads are the devices you want running continuously. In addition to your refrigerator, you'll likely want to power your internet equipment, a lamp or two, and your phone.
- Daytime loads are items you use during waking hours (from 9 a.m.-10 p.m.), like a television, laptop or fan.
- Short-use loads are appliances that run briefly, like a microwave, coffee maker or other device you can use one at a time rather than continuously.
If you only want to run essential loads like powering your refrigerator, a smaller home backup battery will do, but if you're looking to power daytime and short-use loads, you'll need a backup solution that packs a bigger punch. Below, check out Beau's top backup power solution recommendations that complement different households' power needs.
Just the refrigerator:If your only priority is keeping your food cold, Beau recommends a purpose-built option like Jackery's FridgeGuard. Its 1024Wh base battery is designed to keep a standard refrigerator running for about 15 hours, but you can expand its capacity to 2048Wh, increasing runtime to about 30 hours. Plus, you can choose Delay AC mode to relieve the refrigerator compressor or a sub-10ms UPS to seamlessly restart your refrigerator so that the compressor won't stop at all.
For essentials with room to grow:Keep your home office running with the HomePower 1000 Plus V2. It's a smarter alternative to a traditional UPS, keeping laptops, Wi-Fi and monitors online when the grid goes down. Starting at 1024Wh, it's portable enough to take outdoors, and scaling up is simple: just add battery packs as your needs grow, up to 11kWh. And with 6,000 charge cycles delivering up to 16 years of reliable performance, it's peace of mind long-term.
Another great option for this scenario isthe HomePower 2000 Plus V2. The power station has a base capacity of 2048 Wh and an output of 2400W. Jackery estimates that base capacity will run a standard 200W refrigerator by itself for about seven to eight hours, and the system can expand to 12kWh. It suits shoppers who want more power for mixed essentials and the option to build out a fuller system later.
For longer coverage and household flexibility:To back up your home's essential circuits, step up to the HomePower 3600 Plus or the Explorer 5000 Plus.
The HomePower 3600 Plus pairs portability with whole-circuit backup. It's compatible with a Manual Transfer Switch, so it can power the circuits you choose. Its 3584Wh base battery runs a refrigerator for roughly 14 to 18 hours, and when expanded to 21kWh, you get up to 14 days of fridge backup with room for daytime loads.
The Explorer 5000 Plus is Beau's preferred solution for households wanting a more comprehensive system. Paired with the Smart Transfer Switch, it switches over automatically in 0ms, so your essentials never miss a beat. Starting at 5040Wh with 7200W of output, it expands to 60kWh for up to two weeks of multi-room power.
There's no time like the present to protect your fridge. To learn more about home backup battery options and find the right solution for your household, visit Jackery.com.
Source: BrandPoint
