Do you need a generator in New Hampshire? For most homes, yes: and the reason is ice, though wind has done its share too. Ask anyone in the state about losing power and the conversation comes back to December 2008: a slow band of freezing rain glazed the whole state, and the weight of the ice pulled down trees and lines until roughly 400,000 homes went dark, some of them, out in the smaller towns, for a week or more with temperatures well below freezing. Nine years later, on October 29-31, 2017, a wind-driven nor’easter with gusts to 65 mph knocked out power to more than 450,000 electric customers statewide, one of the worst outages in state history outside 2008: Eversource alone reported roughly 109,000 customers out, and some towns, like Windham, were left more than 70% dark for days. They remain the two storms the state’s utilities size their crews and their planning against. A “generator” also no longer has to mean a gas engine in the driveway: a solar generator sized to your furnace blower, fridge, and lights can cover a typical outage here, runs indoors, and never needs refueling on iced-over roads. If you’re comparing New Hampshire solar quotes, it’s worth knowing that a grid-tied rooftop system shuts off in an outage like that unless you also own storage.
Ice in winter, wind in fall: the same result either way
New Hampshire is served by Eversource, Unitil, and the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative, and the state fails two different ways: freezing rain that loads branches until they snap onto lines, and fall nor’easters that simply blow trees over while they’re still holding leaves. Both make the roads too dangerous for crews to move quickly, which is why 2008’s restoration stretched out so long around Manchester, Nashua, and Concord, and why some Eversource towns were still mostly dark days after the 2017 storm passed. Add that a grid-tied solar array shuts down the moment the line drops, and a house with panels on the roof is no better off in either kind of storm than one without.
Sizing backup for a cold-weather outage
The goal isn’t the whole house, it’s staying warm and fed. A refrigerator runs about 150W, the electric blower on a gas or oil furnace roughly 100 to 300W, ten LED bulbs near 50W, plus a router and phone charging.
| Load | Typical draw | Energy per day |
|---|---|---|
| Fridge/freezer | ~150W running (cycling) | ~1,200Wh |
| Furnace blower (winter ice storm) | ~100 to 300W | ~800 to 1,500Wh |
| Wi-Fi router | ~10W | ~240Wh |
| LED lights (ten bulbs) | ~50W | ~300Wh (6 hrs) |
| Phone and laptop charging | ~20 to 60W | ~150 to 250Wh |
| Well pump | ~800 to 1,300W while running | ~500 to 1,000Wh |
| Space heater | 1,500W | Not recommended |
Fridge, furnace blower, lights, Wi-Fi, and phones come to roughly 2,600 to 3,500Wh a day for most homes: well within a mid-size battery’s range for a day or two between charges. A HomePower 3000 carries that for one to two days and ships with solar panels that recharge it on the clear, cold days that usually follow an ice storm or a fall nor’easter.
HomePower 3000 (panels included): current price at Jackery
For a farmhouse on a well
Rural New Hampshire homes lose their water when the power goes, because the well pump stops. A Solar Generator 5000 Plus delivers 5,040Wh and 7,200W with both 120V and 240V and expands to 60kWh: enough to run a 240V well pump, a full heating system, and the rest of a larger home through a long winter outage.
| Unit | Capacity / output | Best for in New Hampshire | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| HomePower 3000 | 3,072Wh · 3,600W · panels included | Furnace blower and essentials for 1 to 2 days of ice or wind | Check the price |
| HomePower 3600 Plus | 3,584Wh · 3,600W · to 21kWh | A multi-day restoration like 2017's Eversource towns needed | Check the price |
| Solar Generator 5000 Plus | 5,040Wh · 7,200W · 120V/240V · to 60kWh | A well pump plus a full heating system on a farmhouse or larger home | Check the price |
Solar Generator 5000 Plus (7,200W, 120V/240V): specs and price at Jackery
Battery vs gas generator in an ice storm or a nor’easter
A gas generator’s weaknesses show up hardest in exactly the weather New Hampshire gets. It runs loud, needs fuel from a station that may be closed or unreachable on iced-over roads, and its exhaust means it can never come inside: right when sub-freezing cold is pushing people to bring it too close to the house. Every winter, that trade-off leads to carbon-monoxide emergencies across New England.
- Indoor safety and carbon monoxide. A battery station vents nothing and can run with the doors shut.
- Noise. About 30 decibels versus 60 to 90 for gas generators.
- Cold starting. Push a button rather than fighting a pull cord at 10°F.
- Fuel access. Ice-covered roads can make a gas station run impossible for days; a battery just needs its panels and daylight.
- What gas still does better. A very long outage with little winter sun, and whole-house 240V at a lower upfront cost.
New Hampshire power outage tips: ready before the freezing rain
Ice storms and fall nor’easters both arrive with only a day or two of warning, and backup power often sells out once the forecast turns.
- Set up and test in the fall, not when the forecast turns: get the unit charged, run your fridge and furnace blower off it once, and keep the panels where you can reach them.
- Top up before the storm: charge the battery from the wall the day freezing rain or high wind is forecast, so you start the outage full.
- Prioritize heat, food, and phones: furnace blower, fridge, router, and charging come to well under 500W of steady draw for most homes; skip the electric dryer and oven.
- Keep it indoors, above freezing. A closet, mudroom, or heated basement, never an unheated garage or shed.
- Never run a gas generator indoors or in an attached garage: carbon monoxide kills people in New Hampshire after nearly every major ice storm. Of the options here, only a battery station such as a LiFePO4 solar generator can run inside.
Prices change often, so compare current prices before deciding.
Current prices across the Jackery range
Keep reading: New Hampshire solar incentives & costs · Keep power on in a Vermont outage · Keep power on in a Maine outage