Power Cut / Blackout

Immediate checklist

1. Check the fuse box: has the residual-current device (RCD)/a circuit breaker tripped? → switch it back on. Trips again immediately → find the faulty appliance (unplug everything, switch the breaker on, plug appliances back in one by one).
2. Just my flat or the whole building/neighbourhood? (stairwell light, neighbours, street)
3. Unplug sensitive devices (PC, TV): protection against voltage spikes when the power comes back
4. Leave one lamp switched on → you'll notice when the power is back
5. Keep the fridge/freezer closed
6. Radio (battery/wind-up/car) for information

What fails in a blackout? (be prepared)

• After minutes to hours: the mobile network (backup power at the masts runs out); landline/VoIP immediately
• Heating (gas/oil heating too — the controls and pump need electricity!)
• Water supply may fail (pumps), possibly sewage as well
• Cash machines, card payments, petrol stations, supermarket tills
• Lifts (is anyone stuck? → emergency call/caretaker), electric garage doors (find the manual release!)

Power priorities with power bank/backup power

1. Phone (communication/warnings) — power-saving mode, flight mode when there is no network
2. Light (a head torch is more efficient than a hand torch)
3. Radio
4. Medical devices

Everything else is a luxury. Use a laptop only when necessary (local AI / this offline base).

Charging a phone without a socket

• Power bank (keep charged, top up every 3 months)
• Car: 12 V socket/USB — run the engine for this (outdoors/garage door open!), also charges power banks
• Solar charger (slow, but unlimited)
• Wind-up radio with USB output (emergency solution, laborious)

Backup power basics

• Portable power station (battery, e.g. 500–2000 Wh): safe indoors, silent. 1000 Wh ≈ phone 80×, laptop 15×, fridge ~1 day if used sparingly
• Petrol/diesel generator: OUTDOORS ONLY (at least 3 m from windows) — exhaust fumes kill. Never in a garage/basement/balcony recess
• If you have a generator, write down the values from the manual here: continuous output …… kW, consumption at half load …… (l or kg per hour), tank capacity/run time ……, inverter generator yes/no ……. Dual-fuel units (petrol + LPG) usually deliver somewhat less power on gas than on petrol.
• What a generator in the 5–6 kW class can typically supply: fridge/freezer, lights, router, laptop/AI, hotplate, fan heater for one room, heating circulation pump — usually not a heat pump (often three-phase, high starting current; if in doubt, ask an electrician). Generators without an inverter (only with a voltage regulator/AVR) deliver a less clean voltage than inverter generators — buffer sensitive electronics through a power station if necessary.
• Prefer LPG (with dual-fuel units): can be stored practically indefinitely, the engine doesn't gum up. Store cylinders outdoors, upright (gas cylinder cabinet/canopy) — never in the basement: propane is heavier than air and collects at the bottom. Petrol only as a reserve: in approved jerrycans, with stabiliser, rotate annually. Permitted storage quantities are regulated by law (Germany: in garages usually up to 20 l — check the rules in your country/region).
• Maintenance: run under load for 15 min. every month (with dual-fuel units, alternate gas/petrol); this also charges the starter battery; with electric start, know how to use the recoil starter as a backup. Check the oil level, keep a spare spark plug + oil in stock. Earth rod as per the manual when used stand-alone.
• Fridge trick with a generator/power station: 1–2 h of power every 6–8 h is enough to keep things cold
• No back-feeding into the house wiring without a mains isolation switch (deadly for line workers, illegal)

Operating plan (example): generator, PV + battery if available, warm room

Calculate with your own values: supplies calculator (VORRAT.html) → ⚡ Strom im Blackout (power in a blackout) (tick the appliances, enter PV/battery if applicable, gas/petrol stock in the list) — shows the run time per day, gas per day and how many days your power will last.

Hour 0 — the grid goes down

1. If you have a PV system with a battery: does the house keep running? (Only with a backup-power/island function — otherwise everything goes dark despite a full battery.)
2. Switch off large loads: heat pump, immersion heater, wallbox, oven, tumble dryer.
3. Keep the fridge/chest freezer closed. Charge phones, power banks and the power station immediately while a power source (battery/PV) is still delivering.

Daily routine with a generator (guide value without a fan heater: 3–4 kWh/day → 2 × 1–2 h)

Warm room in winter (if the heating fails — heat pump, but also gas/oil heating without power)

• One room, small, inside the building, few exterior walls, door closed; seal the windows at night with blankets/emergency blankets. Everyone sleeps there — pets too (body heat).
• 2 kW fan heater on the generator: 1–2 h in the morning and evening ≈ 2–4 kWh/day → correspondingly more fuel (with LPG roughly +0.5–1 kg per day).
• Keep warm rather than heat: hat, layers, hot-water bottles (heat water on the camping stove), hot drinks. Older people first.
• No gas/wood/barbecue appliances without a flue in the room — CO detector.

If you have PV + battery

• Summer: PV alone usually covers demand — the generator is only a reserve.
• Winter: PV delivers little (≈ 0.8 kWh per kWp per day). Run the generator in one block and charge the battery — only if the inverter accepts the generator (have an electrician check this, especially with generators without inverter technology). Otherwise connect the generator directly to the backup circuits.
• Connect to the house only via a generator inlet + interlocked changeover switch (installed by an electrician) — never a plug-to-plug cable.

Gas supply — example calculation for a generator that uses approx. 0.8 kg of LPG per hour at half load: 2 × 1 h per day ≈ 1.6 kg/day → 11 kg cylinder ≈ 6–7 days, 33 kg ≈ 20 days. Correspondingly more with a fan heater. Your unit's values are in its manual; the supplies calculator does the exact maths.

Satellite internet in a blackout — internet when everything else is gone

In a widespread power cut, DSL/fibre goes down immediately and the mobile network after minutes to hours. Satellite internet only needs power and a clear view of the sky. If you have such a connection or are considering one:

• Consumption: consumer terminals need roughly 20–75 W depending on the model; small models can partly run on 12 V/USB-C. Example: a terminal averaging ~60 W ≈ 1.5 kWh/day — a 1 kWh power station runs it together with the router for about 14–16 hours.
• Setting up in an emergency: antenna outdoors with a clear view of the sky (alignment as per the provider's app/manual), router on the power station/battery/generator. Laptop with the warning monitors and all phones on the Wi-Fi → air situation monitor, rapid monitor, supply radar and push notifications to your phone keep running; messenger calls over Wi-Fi work.
• Check your contract: without an active subscription, the antenna won't connect. Some providers offer cheap standby/pause plans that you upgrade to the full plan in an emergency. This usually only works online → test beforehand whether switching works via the satellite connection itself.
• Terminal with a mains power supply (230 V in Europe) on a power station: power station with a pure sine wave and sufficient continuous output (consider start-up peaks and any snow-melt heating; check the manufacturer's specifications). Plan the cable route from antenna to router in advance, so you don't have to mount the antenna on the roof in an emergency (keep a stand ready).
• Quarterly test: disconnect the router from DSL, connect the satellite terminal to the power station, send a push test message (benachrichtigung\PUSH-EINRICHTEN.bat).
• Limitations: snow/ice on the antenna (the heating function uses a lot of power), possible disruption in wartime, the device transmits and can therefore in principle be located. Satellite internet does not replace radio, sirens and Cell Broadcast.

Consumption values (for calculations)

When the power comes back

• Switch appliances on one after the other (not everything at once)
• Check frozen food: still has ice crystals = OK; thawed = cook thoroughly or throw away
• Reset clocks/timers, restart the router; the router may need a few minutes to synchronise