Home Resilience Build

Three questions decide the whole build

Backup power gets bought badly because people start from the product instead of the problem. Answer these three first and the tier picks itself.

What actually has to stay on? A fridge, a modem and some lights is a different machine from a well pump and a furnace. Write the list before you shop.

For how long? Four hours on a summer evening and three days after an ice storm are not the same requirement, and the second one usually means adding battery capacity rather than a bigger inverter.

Who wires it? Anything that connects to your panel needs a licensed electrician and, in most places, a permit. That is a cost and a timeline, not an afterthought.

The three tiers

  • Tier 1 — The evening outage

    A portable station you plug appliances straight into. No electrician, no permit, no installation. Runs the modem, the lights, phones and a fridge for a stretch, and goes camping the rest of the year.

    Browse portable power stations 

  • Tier 2 — A day or more

    A larger station with expansion batteries, and solar input so it refills while the grid is down. This is the tier where capacity, not output, is the thing you are buying.

    Browse home backup 

  • Tier 3 — Real circuits

    A transfer switch or hardwired system so the circuits you nominated come back on by themselves. Requires an electrician and changes the conversation from appliances to circuits.

    Portable vs whole-home 

Where each tier lands

  • Jackery Explorer 5000 Plus power station front view with LCD display and four US NEMA AC outlets

    Jackery Explorer 5000 Plus

    The large-capacity end of portable: expandable with battery packs and pairable with a smart transfer switch when you are ready to move up a tier.

    View product 
  • BLUETTI Apex 300 home battery backup, front view

    BLUETTI Apex 300

    3,840 W of split-phase output at 120/240 V, so it reaches the loads a 120 V-only station cannot. 0 ms UPS and room for six batteries.

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  • POWISER VOLIX 3 ULTRA 12K portable power station on locking casters, front view with display and outlets

    POWISER VOLIX 3 ULTRA 12K

    12kW hybrid backup on locking casters, with pure sine output and solar, grid or generator charging inputs. The portable that behaves like a fixed system.

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Before you buy

Can I run my furnace off a portable station?

Sometimes, and it depends on the furnace's startup draw rather than its running draw. A licensed electrician can read the nameplate and tell you. Do not assume a running-watts figure covers it.

Do I need a permit?

For a plug-in portable, no. For anything that connects to your panel, including a transfer switch, permit and inspection requirements vary by city and county. Confirm with your local building authority.

How much solar do I need to refill it?

Enough to replace what you draw in a day, in the light you actually get — which in winter is a fraction of the panel's rating. Size it against your real daily draw, not the panel's peak figure.

How do these ship?

Lithium battery products travel ground only, never air, and the larger units may move as freight. We confirm the method and cost before the order goes in.

Send us your list

Write down what has to stay on and for how long, and we will size it against what we carry rather than selling you the biggest one.

Talk to usRead the sizing guide