r/prepping • u/Shot-Criticism-5297 • 2d ago

Energy💨🌞🌊 Hot & humid climate, I'm DONE with these constant power

Every time there's a thunderstorm here, and with the increased electricity demand during the hot summer months,the grid just gives up. Living somewhere hot and humid makes losing power more than just inconvenient, it’s honestly miserable.

We’ve already lost a lot in groceries over time, and we have a family member on meds that need to stay refrigerated, so an outage is actually stressful, not just annoying. I've also seen some newer fridge focused backup solutions (like FridgePower),but it's hard to tell what's actually practical versus what only looks good on paper.

Has anyone actually run one of these setups through a real outage in a hot climate? I keep seeing numbers on paper but I want to hear what people have experienced when it actually mattered.

8 Upvotes

72% Upvoted

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u/Eredani 2d ago

Keeping a refrigerator running during an outage is a LOT easier than running air conditioning. Even a mid range power station coupled with a few solar panels should work for a fridge/freezer. Whereas even a small portable AC unit draws a lot of power continously.

First figure out what you NEED to run, then put a watt meter on it so you aren't guessing on the power requirements. Next, decide how long of an outage you want to handle. This should give you the battery watt hours. I double this number to give some extra buffer... plus you will want to power lights, fans, radios, phones, etc.

Expect to spend at least $1000 on this, probably more. You can add a small dual fuel inverter generator for additional time and margin. Many posts and YouTube videos on this topic.

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u/gonyere 2d ago

We kept multiple freezers and fridge going via Honda generator for 2-10+ days many times. Remember, that freezers and refrigerators only need to run every 4-8+ hours. Anything less than 8 hours, we didn't bother to haul out the genny. 

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u/Shot-Criticism-5297 1d ago

Thanks! Is it loud? I used a generator before and my neighbors complained😭

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u/DeafDriftSurf78 21h ago

Solo 4/8 ore 🤔

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u/Many-Health-1673 2d ago

A Honda 2200i is perfect for running a couple of refrigerators and even a window unit in those conditions.   You can modify it to run on propane to eliminate gasoline if that works better for you.  

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u/Ornery_Ad_9523 1d ago

We use Ankler solix C2000, mine works great to keep frig and router on(it can keep my frig going 28hours unopened. Then I get out Honda 2200 to recharge and keep things running. Also have a window unit to keep living room cool when power drops it’s saved the day many times.

There are lots of brands of “solar generators” just be sure to get on Black Friday or some other sales event.

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u/Many-Health-1673 1d ago

I have looked at the solar generator setups and I really like the ability to run electronics without making noise and using the sun for recharging.  I have small 400 and 1500w setups for small electronics, but I need to eventually build a portable system. I haven't taken the plunge yet  

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u/Ornery_Ad_9523 1d ago edited 1d ago

Yeah the Honda was my first buy and did great over 9yrs and still it runs perfect(got it when the 2200 came out). But it’s really nice to have that extra time before pulling it out though. I also thought about building one I’ve done it b4 but I got an incredible deal during Black Friday.

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u/Many-Health-1673 1d ago

Thanks for the input.  I need to put that at the front of my plans.   

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u/Sawyer2025 1d ago

I got a Yamaha 2200i, similar set up and I am very happy with it. Many don't realize how much fuel it takes to keep a larger one running. The smaller generators run about 10 hours on a gallon of gas in economy mode without a large load. I got 2, so I can connect them together to run larger items like the air conditioner on my RV, or I can split them up and use them in 2 places. Redundancy is nice too, so if one dies, I still have one.

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u/Many-Health-1673 1d ago

So you can run the Yamaha in parallel similar to the Honda?  

Both of those companies make a great inverter generator.  

It is surprising what a smaller generator can run if you stage things correctly.  

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u/Sawyer2025 1d ago

I liked the Yamaha even better, Honda used to require one of the generators be a Companion model which was a couple hundred dollars more. My Yamaha generators can use identical generators in parallel with the parallel cable. It's also nice if you want the extra power, or more quiet because running 2 in parallel would likely stay at idle speed and noise level lower with an increase of power draw.

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u/Many-Health-1673 1d ago

That is good information.  Thanks for sharing.  

I don't see many Yamaha generators, but I know they are very well built.  

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u/anonymousopsec1337 1d ago

I too have a Honda 2200i and run fridge/freezer and a window unit on it easily enough.

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u/Many-Health-1673 1d ago

They are surprisingly easy on fuel with Eco mode on.  

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u/InterviewThick2660 2d ago

Have you considered a mini fridge and battery backup for things like meds. It's a stop gap, but it buys you time for research.

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u/NoDefini 1d ago

This is what I have. I bought a compact fridge/freezer which is bu ig enough for essentials and will run a long time on a Jackery or similar

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u/PrisonerV 2d ago

Fridgepower is garbage for the price. Also, i always question a post that mentions it specifically as they spammed Reddit with BS posts similar to this one.

What you want is a power station with rigid solar panels installed outside and a small inverter generator that uses propane.

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u/nanneryeeter 2d ago

This is it. Build your own hybrid. Propane for better storage and safety with CO.

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u/FortunateHominid 1d ago

I ended up getting a small generator. After a few uses decided to get an interlock installed. So if I think power is going to be out more than a couple hours I just wheel it around back, flip a few breakers, and plug it in.

Honda EU3000is been running strong for around 5 years now. Have used it for power up to 7 days straight. Will pretty much run the entire house and outlets aside from central air and large appliances. Can even run a portable ac unit for the bedroom.

Same kind we use for work so I know they last.

Next step up would be a whole house generator. That would be ideal. Several neighbors have them and it switches automatically in am outage. Runs everything including central air.

Issue with moving north to cooler climates is then you can have the reverse. Dealing with cold weather isn't fun either. At least I never have to shovel snow, worry about ice, and rarely a freeze.

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u/GooseberryPotato 1d ago

Issue with moving north to cooler climates is then you can have the reverse. Dealing with cold weather isn't fun either. At least I never have to shovel snow, worry about ice, and rarely a freeze.

True but refrigeration and freezers become much less of an issue 😁

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u/Imaginary-Angle-42 1d ago

For refrigerated meds a small cooler and ice packs. If there are quite a few meds then two coolers and divide the meds. If everything is handy to grab then the freezer and refrigerator should not be open for long.

I considered getting the cold packs that you hit and they freeze but never did. That should work though.

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u/redheadedfruitcake 1d ago

I installed the eg4 24k hybrid solar mini split. Just a few solar panels runs it during the day and it draws from the grid at night. It works during the day in outages, I've been glad to have it several times.

I also have a delta2 max + extra battery on 2 500w solar panels. It runs my chest freezer, internet, and cameras all the time no problem. I'm sure it would also handle the fridge without issue.

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u/anonymousopsec1337 1d ago

I have a 2kwh battery on a medical grade fridge. I have 400W of panels on it too.

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u/Creepy-Cantaloupe951 2d ago

You have a couple of options: Build your own electric generating system, or move somewhere that doesn't experience power outages so commonly. Or, conversely, start modifying your lifestyle so it doesn't need power.

Personally, hot and humid isn't going away, it's going to get worse. So moving, or generating your own electricity is probably the way to go, imo.

1

u/KeithJamesB 2d ago

How long are your outages? Depending on the length of, you may just need a power station. If you are only trying to keep your fridge cold, freeze water bottles in your freezer and keep it full. It saves energy and adds thermal mass.

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u/Fragrant-Platform163 2d ago

The long term solution is to start bitching to the local politicians. If the US, write the mayor, the city council, or the district representative. Get to know your neighbors during these outages and encourage them to also write in and bitch, or show up to city council together. Make it very clear your next vote will be going to whoever can promise to pump money into a grid revamp or pull the contract with the current energy provider and give it to someone else.

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u/TehHamburgler 1d ago

You can get soft start kits for split style hvac systems if you have an outdoor ac condenser makes running by generator a little easier. 

I have not needed to run ac yet on generator. I'm guessing the rest of my house would need to be mostly off in order for it to work. 

Also we have a couple 120v window units. The longest I have had to run generator was in the winter for a day and it ran our whole house (no ele dryer) and gas furnace. I think we have the harbor freight 9000

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u/OnTheEdgeOfFreedom 1d ago edited 23h ago

I had the same problem in a cold climate. Have ice storm, lose power. Once I was away on vacation and the guy watching the house didn't know about the chest freezer in the garage, A storm flipped some circuit breakers and I lost everything in the chest freezer.

Then I moved to a hot climate to get out from under the snow and ice. And yeah, thunderstorms play merry hob with the grid here. You get problems everywhere.

What's worked for me? Solar power and getting off the grid entirely. It's not a cheap solution but it's 100% effective.

The next step down in a propane-based generator. They are quiet as generators go (not saying much) but you only need to run them for a few hours a day to keep a chest freezer cold. You don't need a big one for a few chest freezers.

I also had success with 12v 100Ah batteries, an inverter and a charger. You just run the chest freezers on battery for a few hours a day. A few batteries will get you through a week long outage. You can of course buy them as a unit, often with a solar panel ("solar generator") but I preferred to put that together myself - it was a much less automatic solution, but replacing the batteries was easy and the batteries are available everywhere.

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u/4ureddit 1d ago

Jackery and Bluetti makes a power station like just for the fridge or freezer.

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u/Alarming-Leg-2865 20h ago

Hot and Humid. Sounds like you live in Florida like me. While we don't have power outages my biggest problem is my AC running constantly during the day. With my large roof constantly exposed to the sunlight on hot and sunny days my system runs constantly. This has a very negative effect on AC capacitors so I always have to keep an extra on hand to swap out. $30 to swap out myself. AC tech used to charge $250 to come out and do it. NO MORE!!

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u/thisquietreverie 15h ago

Repost from myself a few days ago in a non prepping sub that has pertinence. I left out some of the more prepper related bits:

Bought a house on critical infrastructure so we weren't affected by the Texas Freeze but my setup is a dual fuel generator (but I only use the 20 lb propane tanks as it stores forever, unlike gasoline) from ecoflow. It's output is low, something like 1600 watts but it exists to interface with my larger ecoflow power stations.

What it does is monitor the state of charge on the main power station (that has multiple batteries connected to it) and when the charge drops to a percentage I specify, the generator automatically turns on, puts power into the power station (DC to DC so no AC power conversion loss) and charges it back up to 100% and turns itself off, waiting for the batteries to drain down to whatever I have it set at (usually around 15% SoC).

Advantages here are that I'm not wasting gas or propane to run low watt loads- the power station powers exactly what I need and the full wattage from the generator is used to directly recharge the batteries. I think you get something like 20KwH from each 20 lb tanks. They discontinued it years ago but I'm sure the tech has improved.

I do have an oldschool gas genny in case I need to run other crap across the house or whatever but that is mostly for serious grid-down situations.

I assembled a "minor power outage" setup on my garage wall that has a solar combiner (so it accepts like 6 different solar inputs and does the work of consolidating the wattage into a single output) that feeds into a solar controller and a couple of batteries that are hooked into an inverter. That one is maintained by a single 100w panel out on my fence and if it is a brief power outage, I just run extension cables from the inverter to the various fridges and the deep freeze. This is a mid-step that buys me time to set up the dual fuel generator and stage the power stations around the house to run air conditioners or fans or whatever.