Your State's Grid
Backup Power for New Jersey: The Sandy Legacy and the Shore
Sandy left millions dark for over a week and rewrote what the state thinks an outage is. Here is what a New Jersey household — Shore, suburb or city — should actually own now.
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What's in this article
Late October 2012. Sandy came ashore near Atlantic City, and by the next morning over two million New Jersey customers were dark. verify A week later hundreds of thousands still were. Gas stations had no power to pump, the state rationed fuel by licence plate, and people who owned generators discovered they owned very heavy boxes. verify
New Jersey plans against Sandy now, and it should.
Why New Jersey is its own problem
The Shore. Barrier islands, tidal flooding, tropical storms and nor'easters from late summer through winter. When the Shore floods, substations flood, and restoration means rebuilding.
The suburbs and their trees. Bergen, Morris, Monmouth, Somerset — dense mature canopy over the lines, and every thunderstorm, derecho and ice storm brings it down. PSE&G and JCP&L both see multi-day outages after a real event. verify
Density. New Jersey is the most densely populated state, which means outages affect a lot of people at once and restoration crews are spread across a lot of demand.
Fuel. Sandy proved that the state's gas stations go dark with the grid. A backup plan that depends on fuel is a plan that depends on something Sandy took away.
Sandy-scale: recharging is the whole question
A week-plus outage with no fuel available. That is the scenario, and it decides the plan.
A 1,000–2,000Wh unit with 400W of panels runs a fridge, phones, internet and — in the cold Sandy hit in — a furnace blower, refilling every day in post-storm sun. A bigger battery with no panels runs out on day two and there is no station to fill a generator.
| Appliance | EcoFlow DELTA 21,024 Wh | Anker SOLIX C10001,056 Wh | Bluetti AC200L2,048 Wh |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-size refrigerator~150W running, cycles ~35% of the time | 17 hr | 17 hr | 33 hr |
| Gas furnace blower~400W running, cycles ~40% of the time | 5.4 hr | 5.6 hr | 11 hr |
| Wi-Fi router + modem~20W running | 44 hr | 45 hr | 87 hr |
| Phones and a laptop~65W running, cycles ~50% of the time | 27 hr | 28 hr | 54 hr |
Everyday outages: the suburbs
Most New Jersey outages are not Sandy. They are a summer thunderstorm that takes out a feeder for a night, or an ice storm that takes it out for two days.
For those, a 1,000Wh unit plugged in permanently covers the fridge, the internet and the phones, and the car refills it if it runs long. Panels are optional for this tier.
Working from home is common across the state. A router and a laptop draw about 100W together — a full working day on a 1,000Wh unit. Check whether your ISP stays up before assuming powered router means working internet.
What we'd buy, by situation
Bergen, Morris, Middlesex, the suburbs — gas heat
A 1,000Wh unit and a transfer switch, plugged in permanently. The EcoFlow DELTA 2 or Anker SOLIX C1000. Covers the everyday outage and the winter furnace.
The Shore, the islands, anywhere Sandy flooded
2,000Wh class plus panels. The Bluetti AC200L with two PV200s. The panels are the plan for a week with no fuel.
Newark, Jersey City, Hoboken apartments
A smaller unit. A 288Wh unit covers phones, lights and the router, and it carries down a stairwell. The NYC apartment guide applies directly.
What not to buy in New Jersey
A generator as the only plan. Sandy took the fuel away. A generator with an empty tank is the heaviest thing in the garage.
A battery with no panels at the Shore. It runs out on day two of a week-long restoration.
A unit stored in the garage over winter. Lithium does not charge below freezing. Indoors, plugged in.
The free things, which matter most
Fill the tank before every named storm. The car is a slow generator and a way out, and the pumps will stop.
Evacuate the islands when told. Sandy killed people who stayed. Backup power is for after you come home.
Register medical equipment with PSE&G or JCP&L. Free, one form.
Fill the freezer with water jugs. Mass holds cold for days before you spend a watt-hour.
The picks, in detail
Specs come from data/products.json, so they're the same everywhere on this site.
EcoFlow
EcoFlow DELTA 2
The one most people should buy. It refills fast enough that a short sunny break between storm bands actually matters.
- Capacity
- 1,024 Wh
- AC output
- 1,800W
- Weight
- 27 lb
What's good
- Wall recharge is genuinely quick — useful when power flickers back for an hour
- LiFePO4 cells, so it tolerates being left plugged in for years
- Six AC outlets means no daisy-chained power strips on the kitchen counter
- Add an extra battery later instead of buying a whole second unit
What's annoying
- The fan is audible in a quiet bedroom at night
- 1800W ceiling rules out most space heaters and hair dryers
- Expansion batteries cost nearly as much as the unit itself
Who this is wrong for
Anyone who needs to power a well pump, an electric water heater or a central AC. It will not start them, and it is not a whole-home unit.
Anker
Anker SOLIX C1000
The best-built 1kWh unit on the market, and the one that fits an RV bay without a shoehorn.
- Capacity
- 1,056 Wh
- AC output
- 1,800W
- Weight
- 28.44 lb
What's good
- The most compact 1kWh box here — it genuinely fits where others don't
- Anker's warranty service is the least painful in this category
- Full wall recharge in under an hour
- Quiet fan behaviour under moderate load
What's annoying
- Expansion battery caps you at about 2,112Wh and is expensive
- Fewer solar input options than EcoFlow
- Anker discounts less often, so you rarely catch a deep sale
Who this is wrong for
People who need to run more than 1800W. And it won't grow with you — expansion is limited.
Bluetti
Bluetti AC200L
Specs unverifiedA lot of battery for the money, with the port selection of a small workshop.
- Capacity
- 2,048 Wh
- AC output
- 2,400W
- Weight
- 61.9 lb
What's good
- Expandable, unlike most Bluetti units at this size
- A genuinely useful spread of ports including a 30A RV outlet
- Fast recharge for a 2kWh unit
What's annoying
- Shorter warranty than EcoFlow and Jackery offer
- Big and awkward to store
- Bluetti's US service turnaround has been inconsistent
Who this is wrong for
Small apartments. It's physically large and you will trip over it.
Bluetti
Bluetti PV200 200W Solar Panel
Specs unverifiedThe most watts per dollar in folding panels, with a case that feels like it'll outlast the warranty.
What's good
- Strong output for the money
- MC4 makes it universal across brands
- Durable long-fiber ETFE surface
What's annoying
- Four-fold design is awkward in wind
- No integrated USB output
- Kickstand angles are limited
Who this is wrong for
Quick grab-and-go trips. Unfolding four panels in wind is a two-person job.
Questions people actually ask
How long were New Jersey outages after Sandy?
What are the main outage risks in New Jersey?
What size backup for a New Jersey suburb?
Do I need solar panels at the Shore?
Was fuel a problem after Sandy?
Who wrote this
Dhruvil Domadiya
Founder and editor, GreenCommuteGuide
I started GreenCommuteGuide because backup power is sold with numbers that sound impressive and mean very little — watt-hours on the box, surge ratings that turn out to be a boost mode, charge times quoted to 80% and printed as though they were full. I set the rules this site runs on: every spec is checked against the manufacturer's own documentation, anything we have not verified is marked as unverified on the page rather than quietly published, prices are never shown because they go stale, and every review names at least one product not to buy and who it is wrong for. Where I have not tested something myself, the page says so.
- · Sets and enforces the editorial standards on this site — unverified claims are flagged on the page, and the build fails if they are not
- · Specs are taken from manufacturers' own published documentation, never from retailer listings, and the source and date are recorded for each product
- · No payment is accepted for a rating, a ranking, or a positive verdict
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