One week from very high temperatures across much of the US signals the return of, for much of the country, the worst side of summer: dangerous, even deadly heat.
But while it can be hot enough when air conditioning works all day and is not comfortable inside, the real danger comes when the power grid is overloaded and the power stops. Now you’re stuck in sweltering heat in a home that’s getting hotter by the minute. Also, your fridge is facing a countdown – if this goes on long enough, you’ll have to throw it all away.
No matter what the temperature is outside, a portable power plant it might at least help you cope a little, even if it can’t make you feel like spring indoors. We’ve tested dozens of power plants here at CNET, including checking how some can handle appliance needs in our own homes.
That’s what these big batteries can do.
What is a portable power plant
These are no AA batteries. A portable power plant is a large battery pack, usually 20 pounds or more, that allows you to power common appliances with 120 volt AC (the three-prong thing that runs most of your appliances). These batteries tend to pack 200 watt hours and more of electricity — some with 5,000 watt hours or more. What does this mean? Well, a 700 watt-hour power plant once kept my fridge on for 14.5 hours in a simulated blackout (when nothing else is running).
These batteries are available in different sizes and capacities. Smaller ones may be able to keep yours phone or laptop works for days so you can make emergency phone calls or text messages during an outage. A bigger one it could potentially power your entire home for a while. Of course, the prices and sizes of these batteries go up as they become more powerful and have larger capacities.
Our testing examines, among other factors, how much usable capacity a power plant actually has, because you probably won’t be able to use the full capacity of the battery. Here’s how they fared:
How a power plant can help during a power outage
Although some power plants are large enough and equipped with the correct outlets to power your home (if you have the correct equipment connected to your electrical panel), most will not be able to keep the AC power on during a power outage. Here are some things they i can do.
Keep your phone alive
Power outages can be dangerous situations, especially if you or a family member has one health problems or are sensitive to heat. Keeping a working phone is vital to safety, allowing you to get help in an emergency. Having a working phone can also allow you to follow your power company’s efforts to restore power or book a hotel somewhere that has power.
Is your fridge working?
Refrigerators don’t use as much energy as you think. An energy-efficient refrigerator like this one Energy star rated will use somewhere around one kilowatt hour of electricity per day if that. So if you have a power plant with a capacity of, say, 2,000 watt hours (as CNET favorite portable power plantJackery Explorer 2000 Plus) that can keep your fridge running for days.
CNET’s pick for the best all-around portable powerhouse, this battery packs a wide range of features and is modular, meaning you can stack batteries together for more power and capacity. It’s heavy at 61.5 pounds, but that’s because it’s powerful.
In addition to saving money from having to buy mayonnaise and milk again when the power outage is over, keeping the refrigerator cool can be essential if you have medications that need to be kept cold, such as insulin. Plus: Cold drinks can help you try to stay cool during a heat wave.
Run a fan or portable air conditioner
Just because you probably can’t power your central air conditioning system from a portable battery doesn’t mean you can’t maintain window unit or a portable air conditioner works to keep certain areas of your home cool. You can also run a ventilatorwhich will help a little when the temperature is high.
Stay away from the dark
A portable power station can keep some of your larger lights on, in addition to giving you a way to keep your flashlights running longer. One of the ways we test the usable capacity of power plants in CNET Test Lab, for example, is by hooking them up to 110-watt work lights — and these things are bright. A power station with just one powerful light can keep you from living in the dark during a power outage. You can also simply connect the power plant to the lamp in the living room.
CNET’s pick for the best extra-large portable power station, the Anker Solix F3800 is a large portable power backup cart. It can be stacked with up to six expansion batteries with a total capacity of 26.9kWh.
Increase your power with solar panels
You are not necessarily left with whatever power was in the power plant battery when the grid went down. Most power stations can recharge from your car, just like you would plug in a phone. But you can also get portable solar panels that go with your power plant and use them to extend the life of the power plant. Keeping your power plant connected to solar panels during the day can ensure your fridge and phone stay on even if the air conditioner doesn’t.
Our favorite portable solar panel is the Jackery SolarSaga 200, which offers 200 watts of charging power. It’s the efficiency leader among portable solar panels and has a high watt-per-pound rating, meaning it’s more powerful but still portable.
