No state has a more complicated relationship with its power grid than Texas. Most of the state runs on its own system, managed by ERCOT and deliberately kept separate from the two big national grids — which means when Texas runs short, it can’t simply borrow power from its neighbors. Homeowners have felt the consequences twice in living memory: Winter Storm Uri in February 2021, when frozen generation triggered days of statewide blackouts, and Hurricane Beryl in July 2024, when CenterPoint customers across the Houston area lost power for over a week in brutal heat. If you’re comparing Texas solar quotes, backup is the part most installers skip — because a grid-tied rooftop system shuts off in an outage unless you also have storage.
Texas grid backup generators, compared
| Unit | Capacity / output | Best for in Texas | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| HomePower 3000 | 3,072Wh · 3,600W · panels included | Fridge, phones, and Wi-Fi for 1–2 days; apartments and smaller homes | Shop it → |
| HomePower 3600 Plus (our pick) | 3,584Wh · 3,600W · to 21kWh | Window AC plus the essentials through a multi-day outage; transfer-switch ready | Shop it → |
| Solar Generator 5000 Plus | 5,040Wh · 7,200W · 120V/240V · to 60kWh | The only one of the three that runs central AC through a July blackout | Shop it → |
Why Texas outages hit harder than most
Texas gets hit from both ends of the thermometer. A summer blackout in Houston or San Antonio isn’t an inconvenience, it’s a heat-safety problem, and ERCOT’s tight reserve margins mean conservation appeals are now a normal part of August. Winter is the opposite risk: Uri proved the grid can fail in a hard freeze, and much of Texas housing isn’t built for it. Whether you’re served by Oncor in Dallas–Fort Worth, CenterPoint in Houston, AEP Texas down south, or a co-op in the Hill Country, the fix is the same — enough stored power to ride out the gap. If you’re in the Houston metro specifically, the Houston backup power guide covers what a CenterPoint outage looks like and how to size for a July one.
How much backup a Texas home actually needs
Start with the one load that defines Texas: cooling. If you want to keep central AC running through a summer outage, you need real output. The Solar Generator 5000 Plus delivers 5,040Wh and 7,200W with 120V and 240V, and expands to 60kWh — enough to carry an air conditioner plus the rest of the house.
▶ Shop the Solar Generator 5000 Plus — runs central AC
Most Texas homes that just want to stay comfortable and keep the essentials on land on the HomePower 3600 Plus: 3,584Wh, 3,600W, expandable to 21kWh, and able to tie into your circuits through a transfer switch so a window unit, fridge, and lights all keep running.
▶ Shop the HomePower 3600 Plus — our Texas pick
If your goal is simply to protect the fridge, phones, and Wi-Fi through a shorter outage, the HomePower 3000 covers essentials for one to two days and ships with solar panels so it refills mid-outage — the practical choice for an apartment or a smaller home.
▶ Shop the HomePower 3000 use code DEAL5
Already have rooftop panels? They shut off when ERCOT does — here’s how to use off-grid solar as backup during a Texas outage, and what it takes to make an existing array keep running.
The problem with the Texas gas-generator rush
After both Uri and Beryl, Texans emptied store shelves of gas generators — then couldn’t find fuel to run them. A solar generator sidesteps that entire scramble: nothing to store, nothing to spill, no exhaust, and safe to run indoors during a storm. Because Jackery’s units are LiFePO4 and run near 30 decibels, you can keep one in a closet or garage and forget about it until the lights go out.
▶ Shop Jackery backup generators — compare all three
Keep reading: Houston backup power for the next CenterPoint outage · Can off-grid solar back up your Texas home in an outage? · Texas solar incentives & costs · Solar battery backup vs rooftop solar (California) · Best solar generators for home backup (Oklahoma)