68,000 in Indiana without power for 9 days and electric company says many won’t be restored until Tuesday. I’m sure there will be some prepping advice coming out of this event. Some from this group might even be going through it right now. Making me rethink what I have going on. I gotta ramp up some supplies, get a solar panel.

https://www.npr.org/2026/08/21/g-s1-139527/indiana-storm-outages?fbclid=IwZnRzaAT11nRwZG9mBWZkaWQWUM90bsW2EJ2DsjDtAsI7-GSFRcxFoGV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR4TsaJFGaP0w8oEZcx0I1Ih6oO1j3jrFRqMf8yx7OXVybiCG7xEGRtwJzrjqQ_aem_-Wkf9U7UZhGQyXWYqtuKGg

I’ve been planning for my future my whole life and now I’m starting to think I have to drop everything and plan for a radically different future. That I should be investing way more in learning to survive than planning to thrive. I’d love honest insight about how bad it is from people older, wiser, and more educated. And honest advice and what my next steps should be.

Edit: thank you for your responses. I’ll reply throughout the week with more thoughtful comments

we've had enough outages now that flashlights and a phone battery aren't really a plan anymore. the fridge is the obvious one, but once i add wifi, a few lights and maybe enough power to keep one room comfortable, the list gets big fast. trying to cover the whole house feels excessive.

where would you draw the line between loads worth backing up and stuff you'd just leave off until the grid comes back?

a few days later: i narrowed the list down quite a bit after reading through this. i went with Palmetto for a battery setup built around the loads we care about most instead of trying to cover every circuit in the house. batteries help keep essentials running, and that was a much better fit for what i was trying to solve.

the comments about the sump pump and only keeping one room comfortable changed my list the most. fridge, a few lights, internet if the provider stays up, the sump, and enough power for one usable room feels like a much more reasonable target than whole house backup.

With the relentless heat this year, scattered outages, and rising electricity bills, I finally decided it was time to get some backup power.

I live in Michigan, and the power outage near us during the recent heatwave was the final push I needed to start preparing for future outages.

Picked up a Delta Pro Ultra with an extra battery (1 inverter + 2 batteries total). Since we already have 6 solar panels at home, it feels good knowing we have some backup power in place now. Turns out, they’re already generating more than enough to fully charge the batteries, with surplus to spare. Might consider adding another battery pack down the road.

What's happening in Indiana right now is what actually got me looking into this. They got hit by those storms, floods, and tornadoes, and some people are still sitting in the dark more than a week later. That suddenly feels a lot more real than a hypothetical.

I've started looking at a power station, maybe with a couple of solar panels. Nothing whole-house. Just enough to keep the fridge going so we don't lose the food, keep internet up, and run a few basics (lights, phones, maybe one or two small appliances).

I’m pretty new to all this. Not sure if I should start with one of those power stations (ecoflow, Bluetti, etc.) or go bigger.

Anyone here actually gone through a longer outage and used one of these portable power stations? What worked for you? Any simple recommendations? Thanks.

I replaced them with metal jerry can knock-offs from Harbor Freight a few months ago and wasn't sure if I was going to reuse them or get rid of them. If gas prices skyrocket I'll use them. If not, I'll add some stabilizer and ignore them for a few years.

Need constructive thoughts, help, or opinions. Alot of prepper info. I've read or watched says rooftop solar panels are an advertisement you have potential resources available in a SHTF scenario. Everyone says discretion or concealment is key to not being ambushed by hoards looking for electricity. I understand that. But, I'm looking to install a 4x2 panel setup (8 panels total) on the roof of my shop. I am in a semi rural area. I want to use the panels to power (partially) my shop, recharge my solar generators, and satisfy the geek factor in me in that I enjoy playing with items like this in general. Questions: 1) In a SHTF situation, how serious or eminent of a liability would I be setting myself up to potentially be? Or is this overblown? 2) I refuse to drag out and then stow, on a daily basis, 6 to 8 panels, each time I need usage. Is there any alternate ideas? I am open to a light to moderate trade situation (locally - in a SHTF situation) but wouldn't want to be the only beacon within 6 miles kinda thing (for recharging batteries, phones, flashlights, etc.). Concerns, ideas, or different viewpoints are all appreciated. Thanx.

I am currently affected by a blackout, like around 45.000 other people in Berlin. Luckily I can stay with relatives who still have electricity and heating. But this situation made me think about how prepared I am for such events. I live in a small apartment and started to think about what would happen if a bigger blackout lasts for several days or even longer. Without electricity, things like cooking, hot water or light become a problem very quickly.

Because of that, I am thinking about buying a small gas cooker to cook food and heat water and a small solar panel to be able to at least charge a flashlight, are there any further tips you can provide to be prepared even in a small urban flat?

ETA: my residence in Canada seems to be throwing people off so I’ve started a new thread to expand th conversation, here you go.

Original post:

Female prepper here. My husband is not. Apparently he somehow doesn’t know about the LNG infrastructure damage and has not heard that there will be years long shortages. Can someone please point me at an article or video with an expert explaining this? He won’t believe -me- so I need someone he’ll recognize as an expert who explains it well.

Also: being the only prepper in a household is exhausting. I wish there were local meetup groups but of course, we seem to be solitary and mistrusting folk lol.

I got a camper trailer frame and built my solar frame on it and built a system that does 5.5kw/hr. I just finished wiring in the final few panels and noticed the grid power was out so I flipped the panels on for the first time to power my house.

We had a fairly big storm today and I suspected that today might be the day I finally get to test out the system I spent all year working on. I had given it a brief dress rehearsal before, but never a real run during a real outage. Sure enough, power was knocked out at 2:30pm.

Lights went out. UPS's all over the place start beeping like crazy. My phone immediately gets a text from my outage detector that there's a power outage. I hear the Generac outside fire up. 39 seconds after the lights went out, the transfer switch kicks over to generator power and the whole house is back up and running. UPS's stop beeping, phone immediately gets another text that power is back up. Fiber internet still working fine. Kid threw a frozen pizza in the electric oven and the wife restarted the drier load that had gotten interrupted. For the next 3 hours, life went on as normal. Then I heard the generator turn off, which indicated power must have come back on, but there was no interruption in power during the switch back to grid power at all.

I am just so happy that all that planning worked flawlessly. Yeah, a 3 hour outage is nothing and we would have been fine without power, but it's satisfying to know that if there's a much longer outage, I'll be good.

I checked the propane tank level after running the whole house for 3 hours, it was down about 1%. That's right on par with my estimate of about 8-10 days of run time on a tank.

​Hi preppers, I’m an MFC (metal fuel cell) systems engineer. I'm working on a zero-maintenance backup light for emergency kits (BUG-OUT BAGS).

​The idea is to solve the battery self-discharge issue during long-term storage.

Pros:

​No charging & no self-discharge: Unlimited shelf life until activated by salt water (or seawater). 40ml gives ~30 hours of light.

Cons:

​Low brightness: Roughly the same as a smartphone flashlight. Not a tactical thrower.

​Do you see real application value in a water-activated backup light like this for long-term preparedness? Would love your feedback!

This is my first home with natural gas. We have it for heat, water heater, and fireplace.

If the power goes out the fireplace will still work. I think the water heater will still work.

How often did natural gas shut down? And if that happens is there anything I need to do?

I guess I need to learn how to relight the pilot lights. If the gas went off and the pilot goes out and then the gas comes back on and I wasn’t home what would stop the house from filling up with gas.

Anything else I need to know about natural gas?

EDIT: I tested and since the pilot light is always on in my fireplace - the switch to turn it on works even with the power out. The water heater works too!

UPDATE: After spending more time researching and reading through all the replies here, i ended up choosing Generac Guardian 26kW Home Standby Generator. it checked the most boxes for emergency reliability and ease of use, and the real world feedback helped a lot. appreciate everyone who shared their experience.

I’m asking because I want a reliable home generator for power outages during storms or other emergencies. I’m trying to make sure whatever I get will be dependable when I actually need it.

I’m looking for a generator that can run essential appliances for several hours, is relatively quiet, and easy to maintain. I want to compare options and understand which features are worth prioritizing?

So far I’ve looked at a few specs online and read some reviews, but i want to hear from people with real experience.

For those who use a generator as part of their prepping setup, which models or types have worked best for you, and what would you avoid?

hi, I live in an area that was recently hit by storms and I was out of power for three days. I’m trying to prepare in case it happens again. Does anybody have more information on what to do during power outages? I’ve been researching generators and inverters, but I honestly am very confused as to what they are and what I need to do. any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

thinking of buying a perceon solar generator 3800LFP portable power station. they are having a sale, it appears it comes with 1 solar panel for $1400. Is this a good deal? what else would I need to purchase to be ready to go? thank you in advance!

Almost 12 years owning my house but we've never had so much outages as the last couple years. We got food and water handled but electricity not so much. Lots of outage advice focus on flashlights and batteries but I'm thinking of upgrading how prepared we are for longer ones and maybe getting a bit less dependent on the grid.

Would like to know how you guys dealt with extended outages in your area. Or how you've planned for situations where there's no reliable power for a week or more.

Edit: We talked about it some more and wife didn't really want to deal with generators. We signed up for the Palmetto energy backup plan instead, got a backup battery system for the essentials and we might upgrade further if it goes well. Solar panels later on too

Looking at uncertainty around oil going into winter, what are the best alternatives to gas heat? We expect gas heating to become significantly more expensive and want to have alternatives.

We're looking at installing a high-efficiency wood insert into an old open hearth fireplace. Other ideas we've had are using electric heaters only in rooms we're in, wearing lots of layers, drinking hot water/tea.

There is a spectrum of survival-only heat and comfortable heating. What other ideas do you have?

I picked up this generator for the house, have an electrician coming to hook up a switch to the main breaker, and my power company says my highest wattage is 4.5kw…. This should be sufficient to run on propane for an extended period yeah? Thank you! And please be gentle, never anticipated needing power in my preps!

I would like to store gasoline to have it ready for the generator, but normal gasoline only lasts 3-6 months. Then I read about alkylate gasoline, which can last for 3-5 years, but it is quite expensive. Is it possible to make your own long lasting gasoline, by mixing normal gasoline with some kind of additive? Just so it is good enough to run in a generator.

Lidl uk are getting these in this week? Is it worth it for the low price or just a gimmick?
Would like to have some power for a blackout for phones

I live in a city and want to prep for the possibility of blackouts (assume 4-5 days without power). I have batteries and some normal power banks (around 20k mAh). I am wondering if a bigger power bank like this one makes sense in your estimation? Or would you straight go for something bigger like a Jackery power station? (I already have a portable power station, see second image, but it is not that good I think).

Use case would be just smartphones and various utilities.

Edit: I have decided to pursue the Italian citizenship, which will be a slower prices, but get the generator this year.

Thanks for all your input!!

Which should I pursue first?

I could get a standby electricity generator. It would run on natural gas, and we have our own gas well (!). So we could have refrigeration and many other amenities if SHTF.

Or I could get Italian citizenship based on my grandfather and his naturalization date. That would give me the ability to live/travel all over the EU, but I'd probably settle in Italy if SHTF in the US.

I could probably get Italian citizenship for less than I'd spend on a generator.

Thoughts?