BUCKHORN CLIFFSA preparedness field manual

Power and Light · Guide

Solar and Backup Power: Every Guide on This Site, and Where to Start

The map of every solar and backup power page on this site. Three doors for the three situations nearly everyone is in, a seven-step path through the pages in the order they were meant to be read, a side-by-side of portable, wired and generator power, and every power page grouped by job, each with what it gives you and when to read it.

Quick facts

  • Three doorsNothing to wire: the portable field guide. The whole house: the home backup system. Understand it first: solar power basics
  • The pathBlackout guide → outage gear → solar basics → portable field guide → home backup → spare parts → EMP and the Faraday bag
  • Buy firstA portable power station and a folding panel. No wiring, no permit, useful on day one and after the bigger system exists
  • Four rulesVolts × amps = watts, watts × hours = watt-hours. Size for the worst month. Heat is never electric. Never backfeed through an outlet

Twelve pages on this site are about keeping electricity on when the grid is off, and they were written over two years for different reasons. This page is the map. Pick the door that sounds like you, or follow the path in order; every page below says what it gives you and when to read it, so you know where to go next without reading all twelve.

Where are you?

Three situations cover nearly everyone. Each door opens the one page that answers it, and names the page to read after.

The lights, the fridge and the phones stay on, with nothing to wirePortable power station and panelFour station sizes, four folding panels, what each pair runs through a January night, and how to plug it in, store it and fix it. Prints as a sixteen-page field guide.You leave withthe size to buy, the panel that fits it, and the hours it gives you25 min readOpen it

Then: Solar power basics, for the arithmetic behind the sizes

The house runs: the well, the furnace, the kitchenHome backup power systemThe battery and inverter wired into the house for whole-home backup: the interlocked bypass, the wire sizes, the settings, the generator port, and the transfer switch mistake to skip.You leave withthe parts list, the wiring layout, and the order to build it in20 min readOpen it

Then: Solar power basics, to size it from your own loads

Understand it before spending a dollarSolar power basicsOne equation, four parts, real sun hours by region, what appliances actually draw, and a calculator that sizes the battery, the panels and the inverter from your list.You leave witha system sized on paper, in watt-hours, before you shop30 min readOpen it

Then: The portable field guide, to buy the first system

  • Lights, fridge and phones with nothing to wire: the portable solar power field guide, then solar power basics.
  • The whole house has to run: the home backup power system, then solar power basics.
  • Understand it first: solar power basics, then the portable field guide.

The path, in order

If you would rather build the whole thing in sequence, this is the order the pages were meant to be read in. Nobody has to read all seven; stop at the step that matches how far you want to go.

  1. 1
    StartBlackout survival guide
    Read it whenyou have nothing yet and want to know what an outage actually asks of a house.
    You leave withthe first 45 minutes, the first three days and beyond, with power as one piece of the plan.
  2. 2
    Buy firstPower outage gear
    Read it whenyou want the cheap, certain purchases first: light, phones, news, warmth.
    You leave witha checklist in the order the hours arrive, before any solar.
  3. 3
    UnderstandSolar power basics
    Read it whenyou are about to spend real money and want the sizes to come from your own loads.
    You leave withthe equation, the four parts, your sun hours, and a system sized on paper.
  4. 4
    First systemOff-grid portable solar power field guide
    Read it whenyou want a system this week with no wiring, no permit and no electrician.
    You leave withthe station and panel to buy, what they run, and the printable field guide.
  5. 5
    The houseHome backup power system
    Read it whenthe portable box is not enough and the well, the furnace and the kitchen have to run.
    You leave withthe wired system, the bypass, the wire sizes and the settings.
  6. 6
    Keep it runningSpare parts: power and batteries
    Read it whenthe system exists and has to keep working for years.
    You leave withthe fuses, connectors, cable and batteries that fail first, stocked deep.
  7. 7
    Protect itEMP, and the Faraday bag
    Read it whenyou want the solar gear to survive the one event that targets electronics.
    You leave withwhat a pulse really does, and which spares live in the bag.
  1. Blackout survival guide: what an outage asks of a house.
  2. Power outage gear: the cheap, certain purchases first.
  3. Solar power basics: the sizes from your own loads.
  4. Off-grid portable solar power field guide: the first system, no wiring.
  5. Home backup power system: the wired system for the house.
  6. Spare parts, power and batteries: keep it running.
  7. EMP and the Faraday bag: protect it.

Portable, wired, or a generator

The three ways to have power with the grid down, side by side. The first column is the one most people should start with, whatever they end up adding later.

Portable station and panelBattery wired into the houseGenerator
Wiring, permit, electricianNone. An extension cord.All three, for the tie-inA transfer switch or interlock
RunsFridge, CPAP, phones, lights, router, a freezer on the bigger sizesThe well, the furnace blower, the kitchen, a shopAnything, while the fuel lasts
Through a long outageDays with sun; one night per charge withoutWeeks, with the panelsAs long as the fuel
Noise, fumes, fuelNone. Runs indoors.NoneAll three, and it needs storing fuel
CostHundreds to low thousandsFive figures builtHundreds to low thousands, plus fuel
ReadThe portable field guideHome backup power systemPower outage gear

Most houses end up with two of the three: a portable station for the small loads and the quiet nights, and either the wired battery or a generator for the big ones. The portable box is the one to buy first in every case, because it is useful on day one and still useful after the bigger system exists.

Portable station and panelBattery wired into the houseGenerator
Wiring, permit, electricianNoneAll threeTransfer switch or interlock
RunsFridge, CPAP, phones, lights, router, a freezer on the bigger sizesThe well, the furnace blower, the kitchen, a shopAnything, while the fuel lasts
Through a long outageDays with sun; one night per charge withoutWeeks, with the panelsAs long as the fuel
Noise, fumes, fuelNoneNoneAll three
CostHundreds to low thousandsFive figures builtHundreds to low thousands, plus fuel

Every power page, by job

The full set, grouped by what you are trying to do.

Understand it

GuideSolar power basicsThe equation, the four parts, sun hours, loads and the sizing calculator.GuideUnderstanding EMPWhat a pulse does to the grid, the truck and the small stuff, and what is worth doing.

Size it and buy it

Field guidePortable solar power field guideFour stations, four panels, what each pair runs, and the printable guide.BuildHome backup power systemThe battery and inverter on the house, whole-home, with an interlocked bypass.ChecklistPower outage gearThe checklist for the first hour, night and week.

Get through the outage

Master guideBlackout survival guideThe first 45 minutes, the first three days, and how the house runs after that.GuideWhen the power goes outHow long the fridge and freezer hold, and the order to eat them down.GuideBackup internet on any budgetFour ways to keep a Starlink Mini running, from a pocket battery to solar.GuideStarlink Mini and Star-BattInternet that travels: the dish and the battery that carries it.

Protect it and keep it running

BuildFaraday bag for electronicsThe sling bag and the hard case, and what goes in each.Parts listSpare parts: power and batteriesFuses, connectors, lugs, cable and cells, stocked before they fail.Parts listSpare parts: lighting and off-grid utilityBulbs, wicks, mantles, batteries and the small parts light depends on.

Heat is not electric

GuidePropane for self-sufficiencyThe fuel that runs the stove, the heater and the generator; how much to keep.Master guideStaying warm and shelteredOne room, layers, safe backup heat, and the carbon monoxide rule.SkillCrayon candleEmergency light from a box of crayons.

The numbers that run every page

Four rules come up on every page above. Learn them here once and the rest reads faster.

Volts × amps = watts; watts × hours = watt-hours.Power is what a thing draws now; energy is power over time, and energy is what a battery holds. Compare batteries in watt-hours, never in amp-hours alone.
Size for your worst month.Three sun hours in a northern January, not the five on the solar map. A system sized on the annual average runs the fridge in June and fails in January.
Heat is never electric.A space heater or a water heater eats more than a house can carry on batteries. Heat comes from propane or wood; the electricity runs the fridge, the pumps, the blower, the lights and the radios.
Never backfeed through an outlet.Any power source ties into a house through a transfer switch or an interlock that disconnects the grid first. That is how line workers stay alive.

The basics page has the arithmetic behind each one, and the portable field guide works a whole January day through them hour by hour.

Questions this answers

Tap a question for the short answer.

Where do I start with solar for an outage?

With a portable power station and a folding panel, sized from the loads that have to run: the fridge, a CPAP, the phones, the router. Nothing to wire and no permit, and it is useful on day one. The portable solar power field guide on this site picks the size and the panel; solar power basics has the arithmetic if you want to size it yourself first.

Should I buy a power station or a home battery?

Both, in that order, if the house ever has to run. A power station covers the fridge, the small loads and the quiet nights for hundreds to low thousands with no wiring. A battery wired into the house with a transfer switch runs the well, the furnace blower and the kitchen for weeks with panels, and costs five figures built. Most houses end up with the portable box plus either the wired battery or a generator.

Is a generator better than solar?

They do different jobs. A generator runs anything while the fuel lasts, needs a transfer switch or interlock, makes noise and fumes, and depends on fuel you have to store and rotate. Solar with a battery is silent, runs indoors, and refills itself, but it cannot carry electric heat or a whole house without a large system. The common answer is a portable station for the small loads and the nights, and a generator on the transfer switch for the big loads and the gray weeks.

What order should I read the solar guides in?

Blackout survival guide, then power outage gear, then solar power basics, then the portable solar power field guide, then the home backup power system, then the spare parts list for power and batteries, then the EMP page and the Faraday bag. Stop at the step that matches how far you want to go; most people stop after the portable field guide.

What should I buy first for backup power?

Light, phone charging and a radio first, from the power outage gear checklist, because they are cheap and certain. Then a portable power station and a folding panel, sized to the fridge, a CPAP and the router. Then, if the house has to run, the wired battery system or a generator on a transfer switch.

Keep going

Read nextOff-Grid Portable Solar Power Field Guide: How to Size, What to Pick and Why (Full Overview)How to size a portable power station and portable solar panel for an outage, and what to pick. Six label numbers explained with graphics, four EcoFlow stations and four Zoupw portable panels with runtimes charted, which panel fits which port, series versus parallel and the connectors, the plug-in order, a worked January day, what goes wrong in storage, troubleshooting, and where a power station stops.Power and Light · Guide

Related to this

Power and Light · Guide Solar Power Basics: The Equation, the Four Parts, and How to Size a System That Runs Your House Volts × amps = watts; watts × hours = watt-hours. Daily Wh ÷ sun hours ÷ 0.75 = panel watts; daily Wh × bad days ÷ 0.9 = LiFePO4 battery Wh Power and Light · Guide Home Backup Power System: 15 kWh of Battery, a 12 kW Hybrid Inverter, and the Transfer Switch I Did Not Need A hybrid inverter is the transfer switch: the service feeds its GRID port, the whole panel hangs on its LOAD port, and it islands the house in 20 ms. A manual transfer switch in front of it only narrows the pipe Power and Light · Guide Power Outage Gear: What You Need for the First Hour, the First Night and the First Week The fridge holds for 4 hours closed and a full freezer for 48; everything else in an outage comes down to light, water, heat and a way to hear the news Power and Light · Guide Blackout Guide: First 45 Minutes, First 3 Days, and Beyond Fill every container with water first; a bathtub holds 40 to 80 gallons
Everything in Power and LightNever-mix checkerShelf life tableFind a recipe by needWalk-around auditStart here

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Power and Light · GuideLast reviewed 2026-10-09

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