Upstate House

Utility companies do their best to get things back up and running again quickly after storms, but during a major weather event they have a lot to deal with, and houses out in the glorious countryside are never going to be prioritized over more populated places. In a really tough scenario, you could find yourself without power for several days—unless, of course, you’ve gotten proactive about making sure that doesn’t happen.

First, consider making sure you won’t be wasting precious energy. A good place to start in analyzing your home’s resilience is a home energy assessment, in which a professional will analyze your home’s heating system and insulation and advise you on weatherization measures you can take to eliminate waste. The assessments are available for no cost through the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), along with information about what state incentives may still be available should you wish to get greener. Keeping power usage to a minimum by using smarter appliances and control panels is key to getting the maximum benefit from any other measures you take.

Being sure that all of your mechanicals are in tip-top condition before the weather hits is key. John Parker, founder of Kingston-based JSP Home Services, says that his people strive to minimize the number of emergencies customers encounter. “The biggest thing that we do is inspect homes to make sure that they’re ready for any particular event,” he says. “Getting a thorough plumbing inspection done before winter, and doing simple things like taking the hose off the hose bib so it won’t freeze, can save you a lot of discomfort and money going forward.”

JSP offers comprehensive home inspections involving several professionals to make sure that plumbing, electric, heating, and cooling systems are in good shape and identify any likely problems. They’ll also take a photo of your system’s serial numbers, so that if something goes awry they can leverage an AI advantage in having just the right parts on hand at the first visit. “A picture of your boiler plate’s serial number lets us pull up all the manuals for that equipment, along with the date of manufacture and installation, and that’s very useful if something does go wrong,” says Parker. “When we’re dialed in to exactly what equipment you have, it can save you a lot of time and money.”

If your home is in a flood zone, making sure you have decent drainage and having a sump pump ready to go puts you ahead of the game—Parker says JSP pumped out seven or eight basements during a recent rainy spell. Sump pumps often come with a battery backup, ensuring that they’ll run when needed most. For those on municipal water systems, Parker is a big fan of water backup pumps, which utilize water pressure alone.

A residential standby generator.

Preparing for a Power Outage

To make sure other crucial mechanical components can function during a weather event, investing in a generator is smart—especially if you live in an area where power outages are frequent. “When you’re out of power for multiple days, there’s no price you wouldn’t pay to have a working generator,” says Parker. 

To get a generator up and running safely and efficiently, you’ll need to bring in an electrician first who can help you determine the size you need by analyzing your critical load—how much power it takes to handle essentials like your heating system, refrigerator, well pump, and a few lights. Even if you’re going with a small portable generator to handle just a few appliances, get an electrician to install a transfer switch or interlock kit. 

“There’s an interlock that the electrician puts in the panel, so that when the generator is on, the main breaker has to shut off, and that way, it can’t backfeed the utility, and electrocute a utility worker who’s out there working on downed lines,” says Scott Goldwyn, president of Stone Ridge Electric. “That’s important for any type of backup system you’re using, whether you want a portable or a standby generator. In a standby generator, the transfer switch does that automatically.”

Portable generators typically run on gasoline or propane, and take some setting up in the moment. They’re also loud. Standby generators cost more upfront, run on liquid propane or natural gas, and can be sized to handle either your critical load or your entire house. (A typical home uses about 30 kilowatt hours in a day.) Once properly installed, a standby generator will kick on automatically in about 10 seconds when the power goes out.

If your solar array is connected to the utility grid, as most are, you’ll need a smart transfer switch that can put your home into what’s called “island mode.” And to get any benefit out of your solar panels as backup, you’ll need to invest in a home battery system. Home batteries are silent, clean, and simple. They’re also fairly expensive, but Goldwyn predicts that as technology evolves and usage picks up, the price will continue to come down. And here, too, you can opt for a system that will run just your essential devices or go whole-home.

Goldwyn points out that being a smart gatekeeper of your own power usage can help you get the most out of any type of backup system. “Let’s say you have a 10,000-watt standby generator. That will power most of your house, but you still might not be able to, say, use the clothes dryer while the mini-split is on,” he says. “So it’s up to you to determine what’s critical.”

As recently as two or three years ago, says Lighthouse Solar president Jason Iahn, batteries lacked the juice to function as reliable backup power sources. “The technology has evolved quite a bit, so batteries can now power things like well pumps, but you still have to be mindful of your battery size and usage,” he says. “But with solar, you can recharge that battery when the sun shines. So a lot of people these days are pairing solar with batteries—the battery can island the solar array from the grid, so you’ve got the best of both worlds.”

The most resilient setup is a layered one: a well-weatherized house that uses energy efficiently, mechanical systems that have been inspected before trouble arrives, and backup power sized to keep the essentials running. Just as important is knowing where your water shutoff is, which circuits matter most, and how long your generator or battery can realistically carry the load. A little preparation turns an outage from a household crisis into a manageable interruption.

Rural living comes with the understanding that help may take longer to arrive. Planning for that gap is part of caring for the house—and for the people in it. Whether the answer is a portable generator, a whole-home standby system, or solar paired with batteries, the goal is the same: keeping the heat on, the water moving, and the household functioning until the grid catches up.