Power went out, Suggestions for "emergency lighting?

[LouNY]

My RAM has 400 watt inverter in it.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

I have a few plug in "emergency" night lights that can be set to low, or low then bright when motion is detected, which is how I have them set, or off, but they come on when power goes off ...

I also have a 16 KW stand by generator that comes on ...

You could just go to bed, the sun will be up tomorrow anyways!

 

[not2old]

We lose power several times a year for a few hours when a car hits a pole or a tree falls across the wires. We have geothermal heat and no backup. We've decided to install an automatic standby generator in the spring. We are now able to comfortably afford it and my wife is unable to drag out the portable generator and get it running. This is a concession to her as it will make her more comfortable living out in the sticks for a few more years and the cost is nowhere near the cost of my toys.

 

[etpm]

We lose power several times a year for a few hours when a car hits a pole or a tree falls across the wires. We have geothermal heat and no backup. We've decided to install an automatic standby generator in the spring. We are now able to comfortably afford it and my wife is unable to drag out the portable generator and get it running. This is a concession to her as it will make her more comfortable living out in the sticks for a few more years and the cost is nowhere near the cost of my toys.

After our recent outage of 3 days length I spoke to my wife about buying an automatic generator system. I am worried about me not being able to start a generator when I get older. My wife is amenable to my suggestion. We can afford it. After being so frugal for so many years it bothers me to spend money like this, but that's why we were so frugal for so long. But we lose power so many times each year it seems like I should just bite the bullet, spend the money, and not worry so much.
Eric

 

[ponytug]

When you size up your generator, I recommend reading the fine print in the manual about gallons per hour of consumption, and especially the reduction in usable propane reserve as it cools. The latter is much less of an issue for underground propane tanks.

All the best,

Peter

 

[CalG]

I actually ENJOY the quiet and peacefulness in the house when the electric power goes out. I just don't like sitting in the dark! Plus, I can't just go to bed, Sleeping is difficult at times. I'll wear out the sheets rolling and tossing about.

I save the portable generator for when we need water, (well pump) and to keep the freezer cold. That deployment point has been around the 12 hour mark over the past 35 years here.
(I can't believe that old freezer is still going strong, and we bought it second hand!)

 

[civilian]

When we built our house 7 years ago, we put in a standby generator. Mostly used for short term outages over the years, until this springs ice storm. We were out of power for 16 days. We also have a 1000 gallon propane tank. So my emergency lighting is the generator. May not work for everyone. Jon

 

[bmaverick]

The electric lines in my area are very vulnerable to fallen tree related outages.
My estimation is NO LESS than 10 outages per year, but you know how "inconvienience" seems more than less.

This evening, when the weather changed from warm and rainy to cold and clear, it was a strong wind that did the changing. It's howling out there right now, and the wind chimes are making music.

The wife and I sat in the front room fending off darkness with a combination of Kerosene lamps, candles, the flame of the wood stove, and a solar lawn lamp.

I was thinking that what I really want is some light source that could be distributed around the house that offered (1) motion sensing, (2) dark activation, and (3) rechargable batteries.(5V USB?)
(4) easy mounting for stairs etc.

I've seen lots of motion sensing devices, but not many "darkness activation".

That is, I don't want the lights to turn on in the daytime whenever motion is detected, and I do want the lights to only turn on when it's dark (power out at night) and there is motion. Does that make sense?

I don't want to run wires for these emergency lights!

I found simple success with the lanterns.
I have 3X rechargeable AA batteries in each one.
Other places offer them with the smaller AAA batteries that only last 1/2 as long.

With a full charged set of batteries, this will shine for over 2 weeks non-stop.

A cheap USB charger,
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HDRZYPS/ref=sspa_dk_detail_6

 

[garry1p]

The longest power outage here, that I remember lasted 9 days due to an ice storm and that was many years ago. Power outages are fairly rare and short, mostly few hours sometimes several hours.

This past black Friday I bought an 2000W Anker inverter (advertised as a portable generator) it is for my internet.

I know the so called battery portable generators have outrageous claims on their performance and when they say you can run all your appliance and refrigerator, that's true. What they don't tell you is for how long.

I doubt this would run my fridge for 24 hours. I tested a small electric heater on low and it lasted around 20 minuets. However; it services my purposes as it will function as a true UPS and that's what I wanted it for, it will keep my internet up for maybe 24 hours and it can be fully recharged in less than an hour.

I have a 3500i gas generator for my electrical needs and a propane camping stove for cooking.

And most important I keep enough cash should I need to buy something and you can not use credit cards,
During 9/11 and Katrina we went for days where only cash was good.

 

[sandman2234]

Last power outage here, I was between generators. I called my company and asked them if they had an issue with me using the semi-truck APU to run my power. No issues, just replace the fuel that I use.
David from jax

 

[JasperFrank]

LEDS are just amazing. I however, like tea candles. They are almost free if you buy them in bulk and last just long enough, and give off just enough light to get about for a night. And once the candle burns off, the AL cup is recyclable.

 

[Oaktree]

I found simple success with the lanterns.
I have 3X rechargeable AA batteries in each one.
Other places offer them with the smaller AAA batteries that only last 1/2 as long.

With a full charged set of batteries, this will shine for over 2 weeks non-stop.

View attachment 4618600

We didn't get them at HF, but those are the same lanterns we have. Man, those things are BRIGHT!
Haven't had very good experiences over the years with rechargeable batteries though...I'll just use lithium AAs.

 

[LouNY]

Oil lamps are an easily maintained and reliable lighting source. A couple of bottles of lamp oil will last a long time and keep almost forever.
No concern about dead batteries.

 

[dodge man]

My F150 has an inverter built in, 450 watts I think, it’s just a regular 3 prong plug in on the dash. There is nothing to turn on or do but the truck has to be running. I hardly ever use it but have.

 

[bdhsfz6]

My F150 has an inverter built in, 450 watts I think, it’s just a regular 3 prong plug in on the dash. There is nothing to turn on or do but the truck has to be running. I hardly ever use it but have.

My GMC Sierra has an inverter as well. I've used it a few times during an outage to power lights in my out buildings. Saves me the trouble of firing up the generator for short term jobs.

 

[gstrom99]

San Fran people could've used some of this advice.

San Francisco power outage puts 130,000 in the dark, as self-driving car service stops vehicles in the street

Massive power outage hits San Francisco, leaving 130,000 without electricity and self-driving cars stalled in streets across the city on Saturday.

www.foxnews.com

 

[CalG]

Oil lamps are an easily maintained and reliable lighting source. A couple of bottles of lamp oil will last a long time and keep almost forever.
No concern about dead batteries.

I need to put in a "lifetime supply" of mantles for the two Alladin oil lamps that we keep in the front room. They are getting harder to find every year. The hardware store in town, where the lamps were purchased no longer carry any parts at all. Most of the staff doesn't even know what I'm talking about.

 

[LouNY]

I need to put in a "lifetime supply" of mantles for the two Alladin oil lamps that we keep in the front room. They are getting harder to find every year. The hardware store in town, where the lamps were purchased no longer carry any parts at all. Most of the staff doesn't even know what I'm talking about.

I suppose I should do the same, I expect the "Amish" stores would have them.

 

[bmaverick]

We didn't get them at HF, but those are the same lanterns we have. Man, those things are BRIGHT!
Haven't had very good experiences over the years with rechargeable batteries though...I'll just use lithium AAs.

For the rechargeables, the NiMH or Ni–MH work well if charged between ambient and down to 35F.
Often the small sized NiMH are used in solar lighting. These are a variation of the old school Edison battery, but sealed with a unique modern structure.

NiMH batteries typically have two to three times the capacity of NiCd batteries of the same size, with significantly higher energy density, although only about half that of lithium-ion batteries. NiMH batteries have almost entirely replaced NiCd. That stated, the NiMH do last longer over plenty of the cheap, leaky Alkalines people tend to use today. The Lithium-ion will give you almost a full month of runtime, however there are limited chargers for these and the charge temperature window is much narrower of ambient down to 50F. There are trade-offs no matter what is chosen. The perfect scenario is to choose what battery technology works for you.

I use both NiMH and Lithium-ion due to various applications or cost effectiveness.

Let's say, you need lighting and to charge your cell phone and/or laptop. You own some power tools like Ryobi, Ridgid, Dewalt, Bosch, etc. You actually have stored power right there at your fingertips as a power block cell.

Skill is taking the lead by directly putting the battery as a power block cell for direct use.

Milwaukee has the power block cell adapter,

For your vehicle, the jump-starter boxes are plenty too.

There are several options out there. All in compact packages to meet all sorts of needs.

 

[Torvy]

My GMC Sierra has an inverter as well. I've used it a few times during an outage to power lights in my out buildings. Saves me the trouble of firing up the generator for short term jobs.

We bought a separate inverter when the kids were young. It plus a 13" TV/VCR were less than $300. An entertainment system was at least $2500. We'd pull out one of the mid-row captain's chairs and the kids could watch videos and/play games. The TV then became the 'kitchen' TV so I could watch something while cooking. Still have the inverter, but it rarely gets used.