When Hurricane Ike made landfall in Texas in September 2008, most of Ohio assumed it was someone else’s problem. Two days later, the storm’s remnants reached the state as a dry windstorm (no rain, just sustained gusts) and blacked out more than two million Ohioans, some for over a week. It remains one of the largest outages in state history, and it caught homeowners completely off guard because there was no storm in the traditional sense to warn them. Ohio sits in the PJM grid, served by AEP Ohio, FirstEnergy, Duke Energy Ohio, and AES Ohio, but the 2008 windstorm made the point plainly: a widespread outage here can arrive from a direction nobody expects and last for days. If you’re comparing Ohio solar quotes, it’s worth knowing that a grid-tied rooftop system shuts off in that outage too, unless you also have battery storage.
2024 proved it wasn’t a one-off
In January 2024, a winter storm combining wind gusts over 60 mph with rain, ice, and heavy snow knocked out power to more than 310,000 FirstEnergy customers across Ohio and neighboring Pennsylvania. Unlike the 2008 windstorm, this one arrived with days of forecast warning on the radar and in the news: the exact kind of lead time that lets a battery be charged and staged before the first flicker, something a gas generator sitting empty in the garage can’t take advantage of once icy roads make a fuel run risky.
Wind and ice aren’t the only threats, and neither picks a season
The 2008 windstorm and the 2024 ice storm bookend a state that sees severe weather year-round. The June 2012 derecho blasted across the state on its way east, and ordinary winter ice storms regularly weigh down lines from Columbus to Cincinnati to Cleveland even without making national news. Between summer wind, derechos, and winter ice, the state keeps its utility crews busy year-round, and when a major event hits, restoring every neighborhood takes days regardless of which company serves your street. Our Indiana and West Virginia guides cover the same seam-state weather in the neighboring states.
Your essentials draw less than you think
Most homes overestimate what they need. A refrigerator runs around 150W, ten LED bulbs about 50W together, a router near 10W, and phone charging about 20W. Add a fan or a couple of chargers and you’re near 300W of steady draw: enough to keep food cold, phones charged, and a room lit through the worst of an outage.
HomePower 3000 (panels included): current price at Jackery
How long each Jackery runs an Ohio home’s essentials
Size against energy per day, not the wattage on the label.
| Load | Typical draw | Energy per day |
|---|---|---|
| Fridge/freezer | ~150W running (cycling) | ~1,200Wh |
| Furnace blower + ignition (winter) | ~400 to 600W while running | ~2,500 to 4,000Wh 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 (basement, spring rain) | ~800 to 1,300W while running | ~500 to 1,000Wh |
| Window AC (summer wind outage) | ~900 to 1,200W running | ~4,000 to 6,000Wh |
| Space heater | 1,500W | Not recommended |
Fridge, Wi-Fi, lights, and phones come to roughly 1,900Wh a day. Add a furnace blower in winter, or a window AC after a summer windstorm, and the day runs closer to 5,000 to 6,000Wh.
HomePower 3000. At 3,072Wh it covers fridge, Wi-Fi, lights, and phones for one to two days per charge, plus whatever a clear day puts back through the included panels. It is 120V only and not expandable.
HomePower 3600 Plus. 3,584Wh and 3,600W, expandable to 21kWh, which gives enough stored energy for a multi-day windstorm or ice-storm outage like January 2024’s, even with the furnace blower running.
Solar Generator 5000 Plus. 5,040Wh, 7,200W, 120V and 240V, expandable to 60kWh: the only one of the three that runs central AC, a sump pump, or a 240V well pump.
| Unit | Capacity / output | Best for in Ohio | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| HomePower 3000 | 3,072Wh · 3,600W · panels included | Essentials for 1 to 2 days of a windstorm or ice storm | Check the price |
| HomePower 3600 Plus | 3,584Wh · 3,600W · to 21kWh | A multi-day outage like January 2024's ice storm, furnace on a transfer switch | Check the price |
| Solar Generator 5000 Plus | 5,040Wh · 7,200W · 120V/240V · to 60kWh | Central AC or a sump pump during a multi-day event like 2008's windstorm | Check the price |
HomePower 3600 Plus (expandable to 21kWh): specs and price at Jackery
Battery or gas generator in Ohio
A Jackery LiFePO4 station runs near 30 decibels and produces zero exhaust, so it can be used indoors, while a gas unit needs fuel you may not reach on ice-covered roads and has to stay outside. That gap matters most in exactly the two situations Ohio keeps producing: a windstorm with no rain warning, and an ice storm that strands cars in the driveway.
Solar generator vs gas generator for an Ohio outage
- Indoor safety and carbon monoxide. A battery station vents nothing and runs in a utility room with the house sealed. A gas generator sits outside, well away from windows.
- Noise. About 30 decibels versus 60 to 90: a real difference when half the street is running a generator after a big windstorm.
- Warning time. A forecast ice storm like January 2024’s gives a day or more of notice: charge the battery then. A gas generator still needs fuel bought before roads ice over.
- Cold starting. Push a button, or fight a pull cord in a Cleveland-area freeze.
- 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 windstorm or ice event
- Charge to full when a wind advisory or winter storm warning goes out. Ohio’s worst outages, in 2008 and 2024 alike, showed up on forecasts hours to days ahead.
- Keep it indoors, above freezing in winter. A closet, utility room, or garage that stays above freezing.
- Map which outlets and which loads. Fridge, furnace, sump pump, router, one lamp per room. Tape the list to the unit.
- Buy extension cords rated for the load. A short 12-gauge cord for the fridge and furnace runs.
- Test the furnace and sump pump on the battery once, before the season that needs them.
- Keep the panels accessible. Store them where you can set them up quickly, clear of ice and storm debris.
- Pair the HomePower 3600 Plus with a transfer switch for hardwired circuits like the furnace or sump pump. Licensed electrician only.
- Keep a battery-powered CO alarm regardless. A furnace or a neighbor’s generator can still put CO in the house.
Backup is easier to sort out before the next windstorm or ice event than during the scramble afterward, when stores are often cleared out. Whichever option you choose, charge it and learn which outlets carry which loads so it is ready when the lights flicker. Prices change often, so compare current prices across the range before deciding.
Current prices across the Jackery range
Keep reading: Ohio solar incentives & costs · Keep power on in a West Virginia outage · Keep power on in a Pennsylvania outage · Solar generator vs gas generator