Considering emergency backup power options incase the electricity goes out.  Electricity is pretty reliable where I live, a couple outages a year for a few hours.  I'm concerned about hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, and other major events where electricity could be out for days, or weeks.  This is to power the refrigerator, AC/fans, lights, cooking, etc.  Basically to continue living a normal life.  I have solar panels and get the 100% electricity credit from HECO.

Thinking about the following options:

1.  Tesla Powerwall (~$12k for 13kwh)
Can power everything in the house.  Very expensive and can't recoup the cost.  Won't work if my solar panels are damaged.

2.  Portable gas generator ($1,500 for 2kwh & gas)
Can only power a limited number of appliances.  Relatively inexpensive.  Can be used for other events.  Need to store large amounts of gas.

3.  Portable solar panels and couple 1kw batteries ($3,000)
Can only power a limited number of appliances for a limited time.  Somewhat expensive.  Can be used for other events.


Also considering getting a Weber propane grill.  I'm not big into BBQing, but it's relatively inexpensive and would allow me to cook good food during an emergency while saving electricity.

Depending on your budget, I would get either a Honda EU3000 or 7000 and run it off propane.  No need to worry about bad fuel and engine will start faster and last longer.

If you want to run AC you have to get the EU7000, 3000 would be too small.

I have been running an Inergy Apex Solar generator in my van for a few months now.  It can power my refrigerator if power goes out, everything else is convenience.  It can charge by wall, car, or solar.   It has 1100wh of battery 1500 watt AC inverter.  It weights only 25 lbs and is very portable.

They are coming out with an expandable battery option soon, would add an additional KW to battery capacity, and I'm considering that as well.  I don't have solar panels to charge it yet so I keep 15 gallons of non ethanol gas in case I need to charge off of my car in an emergency for now. 

Their new system is pretty cool, and they are the only company that would work with me to ship to Hawaii at a decent cost. 

you have to contact them directly to hash out details to ship here..

https://inergytek.com/collections/kits




Solar plus battery is a good option IMO, however, you may only get 10 years or so of cycle life out of it, so upgrades would be necessary in the future.  Possible by that time there would be more powerful solutions.


I would invest in a propane burner instead of a grill.  Pan cook options are more efficient use of fuel, IMO. 


I was also looking into building some kind of rocket stove that would run off of a few charcoal briquettes for pan cooking if propane runs out,  just been tossing around in my head for now. 

Living a normal life during a power outage that will last a week or more would be difficult with a generator.  If you have a natural gas service you can buy a dual fuel generator or get it converted to run on natural gas.  Running the generator at night can be a problem if you live in a quiet neighborhood.

I have the Tesla Powerwall.  It is expensive, but the tax credits made it worth it.  To make a good decision you really need to get quotes from a couple of reputable installers.

I got a goal zero yeti a few years ago and if I had to do it all over again would build my own system and put the extra money towards batteries. Also something to think about is that with a battery based system you have to change out the batteries every five years, so budget accordingly.

This is the crappy part of living in HI.  When we were in Vegas last year, they had commercials for battery units that can power the entire home for $2,000.  The unit was the size of a cow.  IDk how it gets charged and how long it last for, but looks like a good option if you live in Vegas.

If in doubt, can always go with the gerbil wheel.

This is the crappy part of living in HI.  When we were in Vegas last year, they had commercials for battery units that can power the entire home for $2,000.  The unit was the size of a cow.  IDk how it gets charged and how long it last for, but looks like a good option if you live in Vegas.

If in doubt, can always go with the gerbil wheel.

Yep.  That's why I believe Hawaii's insane push to "energy independence" is complete bullsh*t.  If they were really serious they'd try to deregulate shipping of energy dense batteries to allow each resident, that is willing, to divorce themselves from the power grid.

What they are doing now is only allowing high budget companies to build and line their own pockets, pay for their outlandish reelection campaigns,  and probably some healthy kickbacks as well....

you are going to need a really big battery to power your house for weeks on end in case of a grid failure - bigger than a Tesla 13kwh batt. Granted your panels are still good after a hurricane and your inverter is still working.
I read that Japan used Prius/Prii to power some home appliances. There's a big fat traction battery in there.
It's difficult to find a more energy dense, cheap source than fossil fuels. Not a fan of Michael Moore but his film "planet of the humans" brings up some interesting issues.
The cheapest, easiest way is a generator powering your essential appliances and gallons of fuel.
Ige really increased the cost of energy when he passed the bill mandating alternative, "green" energy sources. There's nothing renewable about PV panels. When they wear out where do they go?

I'd like to buy a Tesla model Y in the future.  Id buy one now if it could power my house.  I'm sure it's an upcoming feature.

The powerwall is very enticing, though I wouldn't save any money with it.  Any other uses for a powerwall?  Id also consider getting a small generator if I can plug it into and charge the powerwall if the solar panels go down.  I could use the generator for other outdoor events or share it with others.

The propane burner is a good idea I never thought of.  They're cheap and easy to store.  Can make a good steak on a cast iron pan.

you can make your own "power wall" by harvesting 18650 cells. I built a 52v 10ah batt pack for my ebike which I commute to work with.