Essential Skills

Power Backup and Entertainment

A Family Guide to Staying Powered and Connected

Understand backup power options and keep your family connected and entertained during an outage.

54 pages 6 sample pages below

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About this guide

What you will learn

Backup power decisions are easier when you start with people. Power Backup and Entertainment: A Family Guide to Staying Powered and Connected is a 54-page guide that helps you decide which devices truly need electricity, choose and use backup power safely, and keep spirits up when the screens go dark.

Start with priorities

Chapter 1 ranks needs in a practical order: life and health first (medical devices, mobility equipment, and safe temperature), then water and information, then food protection, and finally comfort and routine. A family walk through the home with flashlights helps everyone find the refrigerator, radio, lights, phones, and medical equipment that matter most.

What's inside

When the power goes out
Understanding watts, watt-hours, and runtime
Batteries every family should understand
Hearing aids and forgotten batteries
Portable generators and carbon monoxide
Battery power stations and solar generators, including estimating solar energy
Generator versus battery backup
Dual-fuel generators and shared propane
Phones, radios, and the internet, with a communication ladder
Entertainment is part of the plan
Entertainment without electricity
A seven-day power routine and printable worksheets

Safety without the jargon

The guide explains power math in plain language so you can estimate how long a battery or generator will run your essentials. It is direct about carbon monoxide: portable generators stay outdoors and away from openings, CO alarms belong near sleeping areas, and solar panels or batteries do not remove the need for a CO alarm when fuel-burning appliances are present. It also covers battery storage and button-battery hazards, cord safety, and why you should never backfeed a home through an outlet.

Fun is part of resilience

Long outages are hard on children and adults alike. Two chapters focus on keeping routines and morale strong, from low-power movie nights to board games, cards, books, and family activities by lantern light, because entertainment is a real part of an emergency plan.

Well sourced

References include the American Red Cross, CPSC, CDC, the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, OSHA, PHMSA, EPA, the FCC, the National Weather Service, FEMA, Penn State Extension, the National Capital Poison Center, NABCEP, and manufacturer documentation for specific products. Product instructions take priority for product-specific operation.

Who it's for

Families comparing generators and battery power stations, households with medical devices or hearing aids, and parents who want a realistic plan to stay powered, informed, and entertained for several days without the grid.

References