Idaho Power is proud of our work to keep the lights on 99.9% of the time, but some customers  might want a backup power source for their home or business. Here’s a look at a few options and some questions you’ll want to answer before investing in a backup power source.

Portable or Permanent?

• Portable Systems typically provide power for a few hours. They are less expensive than permanent options and can be moved where they’re needed, providing flexibility to decide which appliances or equipment  to keep working during an outage.
• Permanent Systems can be designed to power the whole house or dedicated circuits with critical appliances and equipment. They can turn on automatically and power your home’s electric equipment when there’s an outage on the grid, and then switch your home back to the electric grid when power on the grid is available again. This functionality may be important if you want critical equipment to be powered during a power outage when you’re not home.

Generator or Battery?

• Generators use fossil fuels like gas, diesel, propane, or natural gas. They can run for weeks if they have fuel.  They are louder and emit fumes from fossil fuel combustion.
• Batteries are typically charged by the electric grid or a combination of the grid and solar energy.  In a long outage, the grid will not be available, so another charging source, typically solar, is needed.  Weather, shade, and time of year may impact the ability to fully charge the battery with solar power.

Note: A grid-connected solar power system will not work in an outage unless it’s paired with a battery and appropriately connected to the grid. Batteries and other energy storage devices that are part of your home’s electrical system, whether they export energy to Idaho Power’s grid or are strictly for backup, must comply with Schedule 68, Interconnections of Distributed Energy Resources.

What’s the Right Size?

You’ll want to take several factors into account when choosing the size of your backup generation system.

• Energy demand: Consider what you need to power in an outage versus what is nice to have. Pick the size of backup system that can meet that critical need.
• Hours needed: Sizing needs may be different for short outages — minutes to hours — than longer outages. Also consider different needs depending on the time of year. For example, you probably won’t need a heat source in July.
• Ability to refuel or recharge: Generators and batteries may need to refuel or recharge during an outage. Consider what type of fuel you have access to, if it is always available or intermittent like the sun.

Important Safety Note

For any electrical work, ensure you work with a licensed electrician on installation and permitting. Also, ensure you know how to safely operate and maintain the power source prior to an emergency. For more information about safely installing backup generation, see Idaho Power’s online brochure Using Portable Generators Safely.

For assistance with a PDF on this page or to request a PDF in an alternate format, please contact Customer Service at 208-388-2323 or 1-800-488-6151