The EcoFlow RIVER and DELTA series are the industry gold standard for backup power. All EcoFlow portable power stations can be safely used indoors, operate with next to no noise compared to gas generators, and can be started at the touch of a button.
Everyone has likely experienced loss of power during an extreme weather event. But especially prolonged outages caused by a natural disaster can be hazardous and even life-threatening. Experts agree that the best way to stay safe in the event of an emergency is to prepare ahead of time, including by keeping a backup power source in the household. Gas generators are powerful, but can be tricky to use and unsafe for indoors. But a simple backup battery can keep everyone’s phones charged and power a few essentials like lamps, fans, maybe even a coffee maker, according to EcoFlow, a manufacturer of portable power solutions.
There are also backup batteries that can be safely used indoors and still pack enough of a punch to power even larger appliances for extended periods, either by using extension cords or integrating them into the wiring already in your home. But EcoFlow also cautions against attempting to DIY home wiring integration without help from a professional can be dangerous for both you and workers restoring power after a blackout.
EcoFlow’s Delta series of portable power stations can charge a laptop up to 57 times, power a microwave up to 2.5 hours, or power a fridge up to 24 hours. The brand’s smaller line of portable power stations, the River series, can charge a laptop up to 10 times, power a microwave up to 0.9 hours, or power a fridge for up to 9 hours.
It is also important to keep in mind how much energy you actually use before hooking up your backup power station, and remember that you can’t accurately judge how much power an appliance uses based on size alone. EcoFlow notes, for example, 1 kilowatt-hour can run a refrigerator for 24 hours, but a blow dryer will go through that in 45 minutes. Triage ahead of time by checking how long your particular devices draw from a battery. Keep in mind that it’s not as simple as saying a 3000 watt-hour battery can run a 300-watt device for 10 hours; energy gets used from DC to AC inversion and from the portable power station’s own consumption. EcoFlow’s portable power stations calculate all of this automatically and display an estimate in days, hours, or minutes.
Another helpful tip — remember that batteries store power in DC while wall outlets store in AC, and going from DC to AC uses up power unnecessarily for devices like laptops and phones. Instead of using a wall outlet, you can charge your electronics more efficiently by plugging them directly into a backup battery USB, which uses DC power.
This article has been paid for by EcoFlow.