The fall of 2011 is the one Connecticut still measures its outages against. Tropical Storm Irene knocked out power to more than 700,000 CL&P and United Illuminating customers in August, and before crews had finished the cleanup, an October nor’easter — the one everyone called “Snowtober” — dropped wet snow onto trees that still had their leaves. The weight tore down limbs and lines from Fairfield County to the Quiet Corner, cut power to more than 830,000 customers at the peak, and left some households dark for over ten days — the worst outage in Connecticut history at the time, and bad enough that CL&P’s parent company replaced its CEO afterward. Nine years later, Tropical Storm Isaias did it again in August 2020, knocking out roughly 600,000 to 700,000 Eversource customers and triggering a state investigation into the utility’s response. Connecticut sits at the tail end of the grid ISO-NE runs, and its trouble is almost always trees, not generation. If you’re comparing Connecticut solar quotes, here’s the part installers tend to skip: a grid-tied rooftop system shuts off in every one of those outages too, unless you have your own storage.
Our top pick for most Connecticut homes: the Jackery Solar Generator HomePower 3000. About 3,072Wh and 3,600W, it runs the fridge, Wi-Fi, lights, and phone charging for one to two days — silently, with zero exhaust, safe to run indoors with the doors shut. Its included panels recharge it once the sun is back between storm bands, whether the line came down to wind, ice, or wet snow.
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Three storms, one pattern
Connecticut’s grid trouble almost never comes from a lack of power to buy — it comes from trees falling on local wires, over and over, in three storms a decade apart:
Snowtober, 29–30 October 2011. Because the storm arrived before leaf-drop, wet snow piled onto full canopies instead of bare branches, and the extra weight snapped limbs across the whole state. CL&P alone reported more than 830,000 customers without power at the peak, surpassing Irene from two months earlier and making it the worst outage in company history to that point. Restoration for the last customers took more than a week, and the storm led directly to a state review panel and a change of leadership at CL&P’s parent company.
Tropical Storm Irene, 28 August 2011. The warm-up act for Snowtober, Irene knocked out power to more than 700,000 CL&P and UI customers as wind and rain from a still-leafed-out canopy brought down trees across Fairfield County and the shoreline.
Tropical Storm Isaias, 4 August 2020. A fast-moving storm that caught utilities under-prepared, Isaias cut power to roughly 600,000 to 700,000 Eversource customers, some for a week or more in August heat. The slow, uneven restoration drew enough public anger that Connecticut’s legislature passed the Take Back Our Grid Act, giving the state’s utility regulator new power to fine companies and tie their profits to storm performance.
What actually fails when an ISO-NE storm hits
Connecticut sits at the end of the New England grid that ISO-NE runs, and its trouble is almost always trees, not generation. Coastal wind off Long Island Sound takes down lines around Bridgeport, New Haven, and Stamford; ice and wet snow do it inland around Hartford and Waterbury. Eversource and United Illuminating restore the biggest circuits first, so a house on a leafy side street can be among the last back on. That’s the gap you’re planning for — not a two-hour blip, but two or three days with the grid gone, sometimes longer.
How little it takes to stay comfortable
You don’t need to power the whole house, just the handful of things that matter.
| Load | Typical draw | Energy per day |
|---|---|---|
| Fridge/freezer | ~150W running (cycling) | ~1,200Wh |
| Gas furnace blower + ignition | ~400 to 600W while running | ~2,000 to 3,500Wh in cold weather |
| Wi-Fi router | ~10W | ~240Wh |
| LED lights (ten bulbs) | ~50W | ~300Wh (6 hrs) |
| Phone and laptop charging | ~20 to 60W | ~150 to 250Wh |
| Sump pump (coastal or basement flooding risk) | ~800 to 1,300W while running | Intermittent, but critical |
| Window AC (summer storm) | ~900 to 1,200W running | ~4,000 to 6,000Wh |
Fridge, Wi-Fi, lights, and phones come to roughly 1,900Wh a day. Add a furnace blower for a winter nor’easter, or a sump pump after coastal flooding, and the day’s draw climbs quickly — which is exactly what the storms above did to homes across the state.
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Matching the unit to the outage
HomePower 3000. At 3,072Wh it covers fridge, Wi-Fi, lights, and phones for one to two days per charge, plus whatever daylight puts back through the included panels between storm bands. 120V only, not expandable.
HomePower 3600 Plus. 3,584Wh and 3,600W, expandable to 21kWh, which turns a Snowtober-scale multi-day outage into a non-event even with a furnace blower or a sump pump running.
Solar Generator 5000 Plus. 5,040Wh, 7,200W, 120V and 240V, expandable to 60kWh — the choice for a larger home in Greenwich or Glastonbury that wants central AC or a well pump covered too.
| Unit | Capacity / output | Best for in Connecticut | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| HomePower 3000 (our pick) | 3,072Wh · 3,600W · panels included | Essentials for 1 to 2 days of a nor'easter or tropical storm outage | Check price → |
| HomePower 3600 Plus | 3,584Wh · 3,600W · to 21kWh | Multi-day outages like Snowtober, sump pump on a transfer switch | Check price → |
| Solar Generator 5000 Plus | 5,040Wh · 7,200W · 120V/240V · to 60kWh | Well pump or central AC in a larger home during a long restoration | Check price → |
▶ Shop the HomePower 3600 Plus — expandable to 21kWh
Solar generator vs gas generator for a Connecticut storm
- Indoor safety and carbon monoxide. A battery station vents nothing and can sit in a mudroom with the storm still raging outside. A gas generator has to sit outside, away from windows and doors.
- Fuel access. After Isaias, gas stations across the state lost power too, so fuel was hard to reach for days. A solar generator needs none.
- Noise. About 30 decibels versus 60 to 90 for gas — a real difference on a quiet, powerless street.
- Cold and wet starting. Push a button, or fight a pull cord in October sleet.
- Maintenance. Oil, carburetor, and monthly test runs for gas. A monthly top-up for the battery.
- What gas still does better. A very long outage with no sun, and whole-house 240V at a lower upfront cost.
Set-up checklist before the next storm
- Charge to full as soon as a nor’easter or tropical storm watch is issued. Connecticut’s worst outages have all come with days of advance warning.
- Keep it indoors, away from damp basements prone to coastal or river flooding.
- Map which outlets and which loads matter. Fridge, furnace, router, sump pump, one lamp per room.
- Buy extension cords rated for the load, especially for a sump pump or furnace run.
- Test the furnace and sump pump on the battery once before hurricane season and again before winter.
- Keep the panels accessible so you can set them out between storm bands, not scrambling in the wind.
- Pair a HomePower 3600 Plus with a transfer switch for hardwired circuits like a sump pump or furnace. Licensed electrician only.
- Keep a battery-powered CO alarm regardless — a neighbor’s gas generator can still put CO in your house.
▶ Get the HomePower 3000 charged before the next storm use code DEAL5
Snowtober’s damage was so bad precisely because the trees hadn’t dropped their leaves yet — and the worst time to shop for backup is when the next storm already has a name. Get a unit charged and learn what it runs now, in a quiet week, so it’s ready when the lights go. It’s worth checking the current deals first.
Keep reading: Connecticut solar incentives & costs · Keep power on in a Rhode Island outage · Portable solar for Boston renters · Solar generator vs gas generator