Power outage planner
Quick answer: keep the refrigerator and freezer closed, use flashlights instead of candles, and run a generator only outside, more than 20 feet from windows, doors, and vents. (Ready.gov (FEMA); U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Enter your household below for water, food, what needs power, and a checklist you can print.
Outage plan for 3 days (72 hours)
2 people, mild weather
Water and food
| Drinking | 3 gal |
|---|---|
| Cooking and hygiene | 3 gal |
| Total to store | 6 gal |
| Calories for the plan | 12,000 |
What needs power
| Item: watts × hours a day | Wh a day |
|---|---|
| Refrigerator: 41.5 W × 24 h (U.S. Department of Energy (FEMP); U.S. Department of Energy) | 996 Wh |
| Household, per day | 996 Wh |
| For 3 days | 2,988 Wh |
These are typical planning figures. The label or the maker of your own device gives the real number, and the estimate says nothing about whether a device can run on a given power source. (U.S. Department of Energy; U.S. Food and Drug Administration)
Food safety
- With the door closed, a refrigerator keeps food safe for about 4 hours. (Ready.gov (FEMA); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- A full, closed freezer keeps food safe for about 48 hours, and a half-full one about 24 hours. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Eat refrigerator food first, then the freezer, then the pantry. (FEMA and the American Red Cross)
- Thawed food that still has ice crystals or is at 40°F or below can be refrozen or cooked. Throw out food held at 40°F or above for 2 hours or more. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Ready.gov (FEMA))
Heat, cooling, and light
- Use flashlights or battery lanterns instead of candles. (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission; Ready.gov (FEMA))
- If heat or cold is extreme, go to a community location with power. Local officials list warming and cooling centers. (Ready.gov (FEMA))
- Do not heat the home with a gas stove or oven. (Ready.gov (FEMA); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Checklist
- ☐ A flashlight for each person, with spare batteries. Use flashlights or battery lanterns instead of candles. (Ready.gov (FEMA); U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission)
- ☐ Phones charged, plus a charged power bank. (Ready.gov (FEMA))
- ☐ Water stored: 6 gallons for 3 days. (Ready.gov (FEMA); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; FEMA and the American Red Cross)
- ☐ Know where the gas shutoff, main water valve, and breaker panel are. (Ready.gov (FEMA))
- ☐ Unplug appliances and electronics so a surge cannot damage them when the power returns. (Ready.gov (FEMA))
- ☐ Containers of water and gel packs frozen ahead, and the refrigerator and freezer doors kept closed. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- ☐ An appliance thermometer in the refrigerator and in the freezer. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Ready.gov (FEMA))
- ☐ Know where a warming or cooling center is open near you. (Ready.gov (FEMA))
- ☐ The 72-hour household plan, filled in and on the fridge.
Download the free 72-hour household plan (PDF) for shutoffs, contacts, and medications. For storage beyond an outage, use the food and water calculator. To see how long a battery power station runs these items, use the power station runtime calculator.
How the numbers work
- Water and food use the same rules as the food and water calculator: 1 gallon per person per day, with summer heat doubling the drinking share. (Ready.gov (FEMA); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; FEMA and the American Red Cross)
- Daily energy is watts times hours used per day, the method the Department of Energy gives. (U.S. Department of Energy) Refrigerators and freezers cycle on and off, so the planner spreads their yearly energy use over every hour: 363.5 kWh a year for an efficient refrigerator (U.S. Department of Energy (FEMP)) and 395 kWh for an upright freezer. (ENERGY STAR (U.S. EPA and DOE))
- Medical device watts come from published maker specifications for one common model each: about 11 W for a CPAP and 44 W with a heated humidifier over 8 hours (ResMed (device maker)), 350 W for a home oxygen concentrator (Philips Respironics (device maker)), and 271 W for a power chair charger. (Pride Mobility (device maker)) Your own device may differ.
- Refrigerated medicine adds no watts of its own, since it stays in the refrigerator. Ready.gov says to find out how long a medicine can be stored at higher temperatures. (Ready.gov (FEMA))
Every source, the exact rule it supports, and the date it was checked are on the sources page.