The Problem Index → Power
Every time the power blinks I lose something
Decide what matters before the ice storm, not during it. The useful move is tiering your loads, and the top tier is far smaller and cheaper than people expect.
What actually works
◆ Proven
The $12 freezer alarm
The cheapest insurance there is — and it's the alert that tells you the outage actually mattered.
~$12◆ Proven
Tier 1: about 30 watts
The brain, the router, one access point, the radio gateway. That's it. A small UPS or DC battery carries it for a day or more.
◆ Proven
Tier 2: things that fail expensively
Incubator, milk chiller, stock water. These want the generator.
◆ Proven
Tier 3: let it ride
Cellar fan, irrigation, cure chamber. Deciding this in advance is what keeps you from running a generator for a fan.
Run the numbers
- Battery runtime → — free calculator, works offline.
- Generator sizing & fuel burn → — free calculator, works offline.
Also searched as
power outage losses · what to put on backup · ups for farm · outage planning · storm power loss · keep internet during outage · critical loads