Staying Powered during an Emergency Power Outage
I've built a well-stocked 3-day emergency kit for our home, and have put smaller, more portable kits in each of our cars. This works fine to sustain us for a while with the most basic requirements. But in the event of an outage affecting power running to the house, it would be nice have a power source that could last a day or two. The communications devices people rely on these days typically provide their own power source, unlike the corded telephones of the past which drew their power from the communications lines themselves. I'd like to have a way of charging cell-phones, and of powering our cable modem (provides Internet & VOIP service) and wireless access point. We've got a corded phone that could be connected to the cable modem during an emergency. This would allow us to communicate by cell, land-line, and Internet provided that the infrastructure supporting those systems is functioning.
One of the toys Natalie gave me for Christmas was the P3 Kill A Watt 4400. The Kill A Watt reports the number of watts used by whatever electrical device is plugged-in to the receptacle. A quick check of the Linksys WRT54G wireless access point showed that it consumes between 7-8 watts. Our cable modem uses about 7 watts. By adding up the energy usage for the devices I'd like to run during an outage, I can determine what my overall energy requirements are.
I'm looking into getting the Xantrex 600 watt Power-pack. It provides 600 watts of electricity through AC & DC outlets, can be recharged from household outlets or a 12-volt DC car outlet, and is capable of jump-starting a car. Amazon has the Duracell-branded model for $130 with free-shipping, which seems like a good deal. Just plug this in year-round, and take it out should the power fail. It might also be useful to bring in the car while camping or on a long road-trip. Unlike gas-powered generators, battery packs are silent, safe to use indoors, and don't rely on a fuel that's difficult to store & acquire during emergencies. Recharging the battery pack could be accomplished by plugging it in while running the car, or even by attaching to renewable energy sources like solar panels or wind turbines. I think that's a little beyond our requirements, since an outage lasting longer than 3 days would provide us with enough reason to get the hell out of Oakland and not wait around for the battery pack to recharge via solar panels!