About The Outage Planner

Dale Becker is the pen name of this site's editorial team. We use one name and one consistent voice so the site reads like it comes from one place, but there's no single person called Dale, and we won't pretend otherwise. You won't find invented "the night our power went out" stories here.

Our guides are researched from published sources: manufacturer spec sheets and manuals, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, FEMA, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, ENERGY STAR and USDA food safety guidance, plus readers' real experiences when they share them with us. We link every source and give the date we checked it. When we use a scenario to show how the math works, we say clearly that it's an example, not a real household.

What we cover

Backup power for US homes and RVs: sizing portable power stations, CPAP and medical backup, generators, transfer switches and whole-home systems, RV and van power, solar charging, and practical outage prep.

How we approach it

• Runtime math, not hype. Watts, watt-hours and hours, worked out one appliance at a time, so you can redo the sum with your own label.
• No fear-selling. Most outages are short. We help you buy enough backup for the outages you actually get, not the biggest box on the shelf.
• Safety rules stated plainly. Carbon monoxide, backfeeding and battery fire risks are covered in every guide where they apply.
• Honest about the downsides. If a cooler full of ice beats a $700 power station for your situation, we say so.

How the site is paid for

The guides are free to read. We may earn a commission from links, at no cost to you, for example when you buy a power station through a partner link. We may also show ads. That never changes what our guides say. See our affiliate disclosure for details.

Corrections

Specs and prices change, and we make mistakes. If you spot something wrong or out of date, please tell us with the source and we'll fix it and note the change.