Quick Emergency Power Solution
When the power goes down, and the lights are off, there is a way to get the lights back on! Of course when the lights are off, you may need a flashlight to make the quick emergency power system work.
The devices you’ll need to put together this fix are common and easily obtainable.
What you will need:
extension cord ( 10/3 or 12/3 )
Inverter
Running vehicle
Power strip
Jumper cables
To make power from your car, you will hook up the inverter to the car battery, either through the lighter receptacle, or directly to the car battery via jumper cables. Plug the extension cord into the inverter and plug the power strip into the cord. Start the car and then turn on the inverter.
The size, or wattage of the inverter will determine how much power you can use. If you know how much power you might want will make sizing the inverter easier. I would recommend a small inverter of 500 watts or so.
The shorter the extension cord the better, as longer electrical cords use more power. Also I would recommend the cord to be a heavy-duty cord, 10/3. 10/3 means gauge 10, and 3 wire.
Now we get to the Cautions:
Never plug this system into a house outlet or breaker box
Don’t run your vehicle in an enclosed space such as in a closed garage or in the living room!
Only use this system with the car running as the power used will drain the battery.Running the car will allow the alternator to keep the battery charged.
Inverters prefer to be as close to the battery as possible, as line loss occurs with low voltage systems even worse than high voltage systems
Check how much power the items you intend to run use. There is a label on every electronic device that tells how much power the device uses, either on its back or on the bottom. Some devices won’t tell you the wattage it uses, but it will give the voltage and the amperage,
Volts times amps equals watts. 110 volts times 3.5 amps equals 385.0 watts.
I expect a person would only want to run a few items such as a television, phone charger, and a couple of L E D or C F L lights, so a 500 watt inverter would usually work just fine.
If you have bigger appliances you need to use, you can get a larger inverter. Heat producing appliances use more power. That goes for cold producing appliances also, such as air conditioners and freezers.
A system like I’ve described would cost about $60 or $70. You may never need an emergency power system like this, but if you find you do, it’s a great quick fix.
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