Ever hear of the 80% rule? It basically goes like this:
80% of the solution is generally the result of 20% of the actions. That means that if you do just a few things right in any given scenario, you’ll get an 80% solution.
And 80 is pretty good! Not perfect, but likely good enough.
Let’s Dive In – Do Power Outages Matter?
When we talk about prepping for the next potential power outage, there is so much to talk about – and it can make your head spin:
- Having enough food and water for your family
- Being able to cook that food (who wants to eat beans out of a can?)
- Opening your laptop without worrying about the battery running out
- Enjoying certain activities, like games with family, TV, or other electronic devices
- Being able to talk to family friends, or the neighbors by having a fully charged phone
…etc. The list goes on.
That said, power loss is a HUGE problem in the United States.
Lots Of People Are Losing Lots Of Power
The worst affected citizens in the US lost almost 20 hours of power per power loss incident in 2022[1]. At first, I couldn’t believe this stat.
That’s an average of about 20 hours lost, per power loss, per affected citizen. There’s no data manipulation here (check out the graph and source I linked at the bottom of this blog) – just a lot of people losing a lot of power.
Hours of power Loss, per outage (where outage lasted longer than 5 minutes), per US State in 2022
There are many reasons for losing power:
- Weather
- Human error
- Animal interference
- Intentional equipment maintenance
Regardless of the cause, losing power is awful, and can really disrupt your lifestyle. I live in the Midwest with my wife and 2 daughters. We have consistent thunderstorms and the occasional tornado that rips through our city. Losing power is just part of life, and I’m well aware of how a power outage can disrupt your life.
Solve the Power Problem
Best friends solve problems together. Remember the 80/20 rule? Here’s my simple argument: if you solve the power problem, you solve the outage problem. Outages become much less life-altering if you have access to alternative power.
A great, budget friendly way to solve the problem is to use a reliable portable generator that you can fire up in a pinch.
That’s the 80% solution.
Now, you’ve probably seen the costly, huge, standby generators that are out there. Here’s a popular model from Generac:
Generac Whole House Generator
And guess what? This is a great solution. Generac is a very popular brand, with a demonstrated history of quality in their products.
But, um. Did you see the price tag? And I chose a middle-of-the-road generator, price-wise. It gets a lot worse.
If you’re like me, the price of convenience is way too high. Portable generators can give you the power you need without sacrificing a huge amount of money. Each of the models below cost well under $1000 and can easily power your home’s most critical equipment:
FIRMAN Portable Generators
Portable generators come in all shapes and sizes. Although they don’t have the power to run your whole house all of the time, who cares? All you really need during an outage is to power some lights, the fridge and freezer, and keep the electronics charged and running.
Whole house standby generators, on the other hand, are likely overkill for the average family.
Good, reliable portable generators are all available at American Power Supply. Go ahead and check them out now!
They say best friends go through hard times together and come out stronger on the other end. We’re pretty excited to play matchmaker.
Citation:
[1] https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=61303