A summer power cut is an inconvenience. A winter one is different. When a storm brings down lines in the countryside, or wet snow weighs on the wires, repairs can take many hours, and in a cold house the things that stop first are the ones you need most.
What Actually Stops When the Power Goes
- Heating. Gas, pellet and oil boilers all need electricity for their pumps and controls. No electricity, no heat, even with a full tank.
- Water. Many rural homes have a well with an electric pump. In a power cut the taps run dry.
- Fridge and freezer. A closed freezer keeps food frozen for many hours, but not for days.
- Phone and internet. The router dies at once, and phones last a day at most if you use them for news and calls.
- Light. In December it is dark by mid-afternoon.
A Checklist Before the First Storm
- Know your loads. Write down what you would keep running: boiler controls, router, fridge, lights, a phone charger. Most of these use a few dozen watts each.
- Ask about your boiler. Your installer can tell you how much power the pump and controls draw, and whether the boiler can be plugged into a socket.
- Keep water. A few large bottles for drinking and cooking cost almost nothing.
- Torches and batteries in a place you can find in the dark.
- A charged backup battery. See below for how big.
How Big a Power Station Do You Need?
| What you want to keep running | Size that fits |
|---|---|
| Phones, router and a lamp for an evening | FP300 (192Wh): router and phones for about 10 hours |
| Internet, lights and phones for a full day | FP600 (512Wh) |
| Fridge, router, lights and boiler controls | TD1200 (1,024Wh): a fridge for about 14 hours |
| A long outage, including a kettle | TD2400 (2,048Wh): a fridge for about 29 hours |
Not sure? Our guide Power Cuts in Estonia: What You Actually Need at Home goes through it step by step.
Three Winter Tips
- Keep it charged and indoors. A power station is only useful if it is full when the storm comes. Keep it plugged in at room temperature; LiFePO4 batteries are safe to leave on charge.
- Charge above 0°C. Our stations run in the cold, but should only be charged between 0°C and 40°C.
- Run the fridge in turns. A closed fridge stays cold for hours. Running it for an hour, then switching to other things, stretches the battery much further.
Never Run a Generator Indoors
If you also have a petrol or diesel generator, it must stay outside, away from windows and doors. Its exhaust contains carbon monoxide, which you cannot see or smell. A power station has no exhaust and is safe to use inside.
Want the full setup in one box? Our Blackout Kit combines the TD2400 with two 200 W solar panels, so you can recharge during the day when an outage lasts longer than a night.