Wind-driven safety shutoffs, storms and heat waves have made backup power a practical question for many California households. The two main answers are a standby generator and a home battery. They solve the problem in different ways.
Standby generators
A standby generator sits outside, connects to natural gas or propane and starts automatically through a transfer switch when the grid fails. Its strength is endurance: as long as there is fuel, it runs. It can carry large loads like central air and well pumps. The trade-offs are engine noise, regular maintenance and placement rules. See generator installation.
Home batteries
A battery switches over almost instantly and silently, has no engine to service and can sit in a garage. Paired with solar it recharges each day, which can stretch backup through a multi-day outage if you manage your loads. Without solar, capacity is finite. See solar and battery backup.
Portable generators
The budget route is a portable generator connected through an inlet and an interlock or manual transfer switch. It's safe and legal when installed correctly. Never backfeed through an outlet.
How to choose
- Long outages, large loads, rural property: a standby generator is hard to beat.
- Existing or planned solar, shorter outages, quiet operation: a battery fits.
- Essentials only on a budget: a portable generator with an interlock.
- Maximum resilience: some homes combine solar, a battery and a generator.
What every option needs
A load calculation, a safe way to isolate from the grid, permits and often a critical-load subpanel. Panels near capacity may need an upgrade first, and whole house surge protection is a sensible addition, since power returning after an outage is a common source of surges.