A power cut kit for elderly parents
Older people are the ones most at risk when the power goes: falls in the dark, cold houses, and a home phone that no longer works without mains power. Most of the answer is cheap and can be set up in one visit. This page is for the relative doing the setting up.
In the US? See the US edition.
Know this first
The phone problem
Landlines are moving to digital by January 2027. A digital home phone runs through the broadband router, so in a power cut it stops unless there is battery backup. Providers must offer a free solution giving at least an hour of emergency calls to people who depend on their landline: ask for it. More in will your phone and internet work in a power cut.
Telecare alarms
A pendant or careline alarm has its own backup battery, but if it calls out through the router it can stay powered and still reach nobody. The government's advice is to tell your telecom provider that a telecare device is in use, and to check with the alarm provider how it behaves in a power cut.
The Priority Services Register
Anyone over state pension age can join the free Priority Services Register. The network operator then contacts them in a power cut, and can prioritise help. Sign up through their supplier or by calling 105. See the medical equipment page if they use any.
Light without looking for it
Set these up on the visit; they need nothing doing when the power goes.
Plug-in power failure lights
They live in a socket as a night light, charge themselves, and switch on the moment the mains goes off, so you are never hunting for a torch in the dark.
Look for: A built-in battery you can pull out and carry as a torch, and a UK three-pin plug if you are in the UK.
Battery motion-sensor lights
Stick-on lights on the stairs and landing come on when someone walks past, so nobody climbs stairs in the dark, which is when older people fall.
Look for: Rechargeable or AA batteries, and a warm white setting that is not too bright at night.
A phone that still works
The router is the weak point.
Simple mobile phone
A basic mobile with a week of standby is the backup when the home phone dies with the router. Easy to use, and it stays charged far longer than a smartphone.
Look for: Large buttons, a loud ringer, a long stated standby time, and an emergency button if it will be used by someone who lives alone.
Mini UPS for the router
Home phones now run through the broadband router, so when it goes off in a power cut the landline goes with it. A small battery box keeps the router, and the phone plugged into it, working.
Look for: DC outputs that match the voltage printed on your router's power adapter (usually 12 V), enough of them for the fibre box too if you have one, and a capacity in watt-hours.
Warmth
Warm the person, not the room.
Thermal base layers
Warm layers next to the skin keep a person warm in a cold house for far less than any heater, and cost nothing to run.
Look for: Long sleeves and long legs, sized loose enough to wear under ordinary clothes.
Hot water bottle and a vacuum flask
Boil water while you still can, keep it hot in a flask, and refill the bottle through the night.
Look for: A bottle made to BS 1970 in the UK, and a flask of a litre or more.
Vacuum flask
Filled from the kettle before the storm, it gives hot drinks and hot water bottles for most of a day without power.
Look for: A litre or more, stainless steel, and a stated heat retention in hours.
News and safety
Something to listen to, and a working alarm.
Battery or wind-up radio
Local radio carries outage and weather updates without using your phone battery.
Look for: DAB and FM in the UK; a NOAA weather band in the US. A hand crank or solar panel is a bonus, not a substitute for batteries.
What a power station keeps running
The kit above keeps people comfortable. A portable power station keeps things running. This is what a 1,056 Wh Anker SOLIX C1000 manages for each load on its own, from full.
| Load | Alone, from full |
|---|---|
| Wi-Fi router | 36 h 33 min |
| Electric blanket | 23 h 59 min |
| Phone charging | 2 days 13 h |
| LED camping lights | 2 days 21 h |
| TV, 32 inch LED | 13 h 42 min |
A power station is worth considering for someone who uses an electric blanket or depends on the router for a telecare alarm, and is simpler to use than a generator. Its display shows the charge left. Compare stations in the buying guide.
Checklist to print
- Power failure lights in the hall, landing, bedroom and bathroom
- Motion lights on the stairs
- On the Priority Services Register
- Phone provider told about any telecare alarm; battery backup for the router asked for
- A simple mobile, charged, with your number on speed dial
- Radio with fresh batteries
- Thermals, hot water bottle and a flask
- Carbon monoxide alarm, tested
- 105 and your number written by the phone
On your next visit
- Plug in the power failure lights and stick up the motion lights, and show them the lights come on by themselves.
- Sign them up to the Priority Services Register through their energy supplier.
- Call their phone provider about the digital switchover, any telecare alarm, and a battery backup.
- Write 105 and your number on a card by the phone and in their purse or wallet.
- Agree who calls whom when the power goes.
Sources
Amazon links on this page are affiliate links; the site may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. They are searches for a type of product, not endorsements of a particular model, and nothing here has been tested hands-on. Prices and stock change constantly.
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