Backup Power for Pacific Northwest Windstorms and Ice

Mid-January 2024. An ice storm coated Portland and the Gorge, trees came down across the metro, and PGE customers were dark for days in single-digit temperatures. verify Two months earlier the usual November windstorms had done the same thing across Puget Sound.

The Northwest problem is the calendar. The outage season and the dark season are the same season.

Why the Northwest is its own problem

Trees. The region's distribution grid runs through Douglas fir and cedar, and saturated winter ground lets whole trees uproot in wind. Puget Sound Energy, Seattle City Light, PGE and Pacific Power all fight the same enemy every winter.

Grey sky for four months. Seattle and Portland see very little useful sun between November and February. A solar panel that refills a battery beautifully in July produces a trickle in December — and December is when the power goes out.

Heat pumps. The Northwest converted to heat pumps early and widely. A heat pump is the heat, and it draws far more than any portable battery can supply. Households that assume "backup power" means "warm house" find out otherwise.

Two regions, two problems. West of the Cascades is wind and rain. East of them — Spokane, Bend, the Gorge — is ice, real cold, and increasingly wildfire shutoffs in late summer.

Recharging is the whole question

Ask what refills the battery in a week of grey weather with the grid down. The honest answers, in order:

1. The car. A 12V adapter refills a mid-size unit slowly and reliably in any weather. This is the Northwest winter recharge. Engine running, always.

2. A neighbour or a relative with power. Outages here are patchy. Someone three streets over often has power, and an hour on their wall outlet is a full charge.

3. Panels, in summer only. Buy them for the wildfire season east of the mountains, or for camping. Do not plan a January around them.

Heat, honestly

Gas furnace: power the blower. A few hundred watts cycling heats the whole house, and a 1,000Wh unit carries it for a long time. Needs a transfer switch and an electrician. The details.

Heat pump only: a battery will not heat the house. One closed room, layers, an electric blanket — which genuinely works on a battery — and a warm place to go if it runs long.

Wood stove: the Northwest answer that needs no electricity at all. If you have one, keep it serviced and stocked. The battery covers everything else.

What we'd buy, by situation

Seattle, Tacoma, Portland metro

A 1,000Wh unit, left plugged in. The EcoFlow DELTA 2 or Anker SOLIX C1000. Metro outages are usually a day; this covers fridge, internet, phones and lights, and refills from the car if it runs long.

Kitsap, the Peninsula, the Gorge, the foothills

2,000Wh class and a car adapter. The Bluetti AC200L. Multi-day outages are normal once you are off the dense grid, and the extra capacity means a grey week does not empty you.

East of the Cascades

Same as above, plus real cold-weather storage discipline — the battery lives indoors, not in the shop. And if you are in a wildfire shutoff zone, panels earn their keep in August.

What not to buy in the Northwest

Panels as a winter plan. They will sit under grey sky exactly when you need them.

A battery for the heat pump. It will not run it. Buy for the fridge and the internet, and plan heat separately.

A unit stored in the garage. Northwest garages are cold and damp. Lithium does not charge below freezing, and it may not respond when you need it.

The free things, which matter most

Trim the trees you own. Most Northwest outages start with a branch. Your own trees over your own service line are the ones you can do something about.

Know which side of the Cascades your plan is for. Wind and rain west, ice and fire east. Prepare for yours.

Keep the car above half a tank all winter. It is your generator.