You Need a Backup Power Source – Part 1

Every year, tens of millions of homes throughout the U.S. and Canada lose power for hours, days or even weeks. Severe weather in many parts of the country occurs more frequently these days, and the electrical grid becomes increasingly vulnerable.

Usually our power outages don’t last too long, fortunately. Most outages don’t continue for more than a few hours. But it doesn’t take long for problems to develop once the power goes out, especially when the weather is bad.

And in cases where a major storm such as Katrina or Sandy strike, entire neighborhoods can be plunged into darkness for an extended period of time.

Severe Weather Isn’t the Only Problem.

North Korea announced in January 2016 that it had successfully tested an H-bomb capable of destroying the entire U.S. Naturally, our government brushed it off, saying its size was only a fraction of a real H-bomb.

But some experts have pointed out that the weapon tested was exactly the size of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) weapon.

If detonated over the U.S. – which officials believe North Korea has the capability to accomplish – it could destroy our entire electrical grid, plunging the country into chaos and eventually killing millions.

Regardless of when North Korea plans to strike, this highlights the underlying weaknesses of our country’s electrical infrastructure.

Being Prepared With Backup Power Is the Key.

We can’t control when the electrical grid shuts down and fails to provide power to our homes, but we can do the next best thing by being prepared for those occurrences.

Having a fully-charged generator in your home gives you peace of mind because you know you can have the lights back on and your food kept cold in a matter of minutes, should your power go out for any reason.

Of course, there’s a cost involved with generators, and it can be steep. Standby generators, installed outside of your home, can cost $5,000 to $15,000 – depending on the power capacity – and require professional installation.

Most Americans don’t have that kind of money sitting around. A much more affordable solution to the problem is a lithium-iron battery generator such as the Patriot Power Generator 1500. Click here to check it out.

The Patriot Power Generator 1500 can produce up to 3,000 peak watts of power and comes with an integrated 1,500-watt inverter / 600Wh lithium-iron battery; a 100-watt, commercial grade folding solar panel; and a 25-foot long extension cord.

It weighs only 38 pounds, so it’s small enough to take anywhere and store discreetly, and you can daisy-chain additional solar panels for even more power and faster charging. This generator operates quietly and produces no emissions.

How Else Can You Prepare? 

Modern society depends on electricity to run everything from banks to police and fire departments, grocery stores, gas stations and even hospitals. Given the threats to our grid, it’s obviously foolish to take electricity for granted. Even more disturbing, there’s a distinct possibility that terrorists could plunge us into darkness for the foreseeable future.

In this situation, the best way to protect your family is to hunker down. If authorities are able to restore power, bugging out is an unnecessary risk.

What can you do to safeguard yourself? Here are three steps you can take now to protect your family later:

1. Create a family emergency plan. Priority number one is making sure your family knows where to go in an emergency, and that includes grid failure. You’ll want to outline alternative routes and methods for getting back home.

2. Stockpile food and water. With no way of knowing how long the disruption will last, it’s important to have enough food and water to provide for your family. Build your stockpile in increments, starting with a three-day supply and building up to a year or more.

3. Store other essential items. You’ll need more than just food and water if the grid goes down, so you should also think about storing other essentials such as gasoline, flashlights, batteries, tools and medicine.

We don’t know when the next grid failure will occur. All we know is that it will happen. Extreme weather is always a threat to the grid, and our enemies would love to shut it down themselves. Experts believe an EMP attack could wipe out 90 percent of our population over time. Who will survive? You can bet it will be those of us who are prepared with a portable, solar-powered generator.