Wisconsin’s grid gets tested from opposite ends of the calendar. In the 2019 polar vortex, temperatures across the state fell far enough below zero that a lost furnace became a genuine emergency; a few months later, summer thunderstorms and straight-line winds were dropping trees onto We Energies and Alliant Energy lines and darkening neighborhoods around Milwaukee, Madison, and Green Bay. Wisconsin runs inside the MISO grid, and whether the threat is January ice or an August squall, the result at your house is the same: no heat, no cooling, and a fridge full of food on the clock. If you’re comparing Wisconsin solar quotes, remember that a grid-tied rooftop system shuts off during an outage — an anti-islanding safety rule — unless you also have storage.
Our top pick for most Wisconsin homes: the Jackery Solar Generator HomePower 3000. One unit covers both ends of the Wisconsin calendar: about 3,072Wh and 3,600W runs a furnace blower through a polar-vortex night and a fridge and fans through an August outage, for one to two days per charge. It is safe indoors, runs near 30 decibels, and refills from its included panels between storms.
▶ Get the HomePower 3000 — our pick for Wisconsin use code DEAL5
A grid you have to back up for two seasons
Most backup-power advice assumes one hazard. Wisconsin has two, and they pull in different directions. A winter outage is a heating problem — even a gas furnace needs electricity for its blower and ignition — while a summer outage is about keeping a fan and the refrigerator going through heat and humidity. A battery station handles both without you changing anything, which is exactly why it fits a state where the same house needs to survive a polar vortex and a derecho in the same year.
The outages Wisconsin actually gets
The recent record:
January 2019 polar vortex. At the end of January 2019 air temperatures fell to the minus 20s and 30s across the state and wind chills approached minus 50. We Energies and Alliant Energy both reported winter demand records, and any home that lost its furnace was in trouble within hours.
July 2019 straight-line winds. A run of severe storms tore across Wisconsin in the second half of July, dropping trees onto lines statewide. Hundreds of thousands of customers lost power, and the hardest-hit areas waited days in summer heat.
July 2024 derecho. Straight-line winds crossed southern Wisconsin again in July 2024 along Alliant and We Energies lines: snapped poles, blocked roads, and multi-day outages for the unlucky.
Ice storms. Freezing rain in the Fox Valley, the Driftless region, and along Lake Michigan glazes lines and brings down limbs every few winters. An ice outage arrives with roads too slick to drive and temperatures too low to wait it out.
Who restores your power. Wisconsin sits inside MISO, and the last mile belongs to We Energies in Milwaukee and the southeast, Alliant Energy across the south and west-central counties, Madison Gas and Electric in Madison, Xcel Energy in Eau Claire and the west, and Wisconsin Public Service in Green Bay and the north. Each restores hospitals and substations first, then neighborhoods, then individual drops. Our Michigan and Iowa guides cover the same MISO grid next door.
How long each Jackery runs a Wisconsin 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 |
| Chest freezer | ~100W running (cycling) | ~600 to 800Wh |
| Gas furnace blower + ignition | ~400 to 600W while running | ~3,000 to 5,000Wh in deep cold |
| Sump pump | ~800W in short bursts | ~500 to 1,500Wh on a wet day |
| Wi-Fi router | ~10W | ~240Wh |
| LED lights (ten bulbs) | ~50W | ~300Wh (6 hrs) |
| Phone and laptop charging | ~20 to 60W | ~150 to 250Wh |
| CPAP (humidifier off) | ~40W | ~400Wh per night |
| Two box fans (summer) | ~100W together | ~1,200Wh (12 hrs) |
| Space heater | 1,500W | Not recommended |
One row needs a plain warning. A 1,500W space heater drains any battery in this class in about two hours; the furnace blower heats the whole house for a fraction of that energy. The sump pump is the Wisconsin-specific load: after a July storm the rain and the outage arrive together.
Fridge, Wi-Fi, lights, and phones come to roughly 1,900Wh a day. Add the furnace blower in a cold snap and the day runs closer to 5,000 to 7,000Wh.
HomePower 3000. At 3,072Wh it covers fridge, Wi-Fi, lights, and phones for one to two days per charge, plus whatever the included panels put back on a clear day. Add the furnace blower and it is closer to a day per charge. In summer it runs the fridge, two fans, and the sump pump for about two days. It is 120V only and not expandable.
HomePower 3600 Plus. 3,584Wh and 3,600W to start, expandable to 21kWh, which turns a 6,000Wh furnace-plus-essentials day into three days or more of heat with no sun. It is transfer-switch ready, so the furnace, sump pump, and fridge circuits can be hardwired. This is the unit for a multi-day cold snap.
Solar Generator 5000 Plus. 5,040Wh, 7,200W, 120V and 240V, expandable to 60kWh. The only one of the three that runs a 240V well pump or central air.
| Unit | Capacity / output | Best for in Wisconsin | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| HomePower 3000 (our pick) | 3,072Wh · 3,600W · panels included | Essentials for 1 to 2 days; furnace blower for about a day | Check price → |
| HomePower 3600 Plus | 3,584Wh · 3,600W · to 21kWh | Multi-day cold snaps with furnace and sump pump on a transfer switch | Check price → |
| Solar Generator 5000 Plus | 5,040Wh · 7,200W · 120V/240V · to 60kWh | Well pump, central air, and other 240V loads | Check price → |
▶ Shop the HomePower 3600 Plus — expandable to 21kWh
Why a battery beats a gas generator here
Gas generators have a specific set of problems in Wisconsin. They run at 60 to 90 decibels, they vent exhaust that is deadly indoors so they have to sit outside in whatever weather caused the outage, and they need a fuel supply that’s hard to reach when an ice storm has closed the roads. A Jackery LiFePO4 station runs near 30 decibels, is zero-emission and safe inside, and starts instantly. The HomePower 3000 delivers 3,072Wh and 3,600W, covers essentials for one to two days, and ships with solar panels so it refills between storms.
▶ Shop the HomePower 3000 — panels included use code DEAL5
For a larger home, or to run a window AC and heavier loads through a longer outage, the Solar Generator 5000 Plus steps up to 5,040Wh and 7,200W with 120V and 240V and expands to 60kWh.
▶ Shop the Solar Generator 5000 Plus — 7,200W, 120V/240V
Solar generator vs gas generator in a Wisconsin winter
- Indoor safety and carbon monoxide. A battery station vents nothing and runs in the basement with the house sealed. A gas generator sits outside, well away from windows, in the storm that caused the outage.
- Noise. About 30 decibels versus 60 to 90.
- Fuel in a storm. The battery is charged before the storm and refilled by the sun after. Gasoline has to be stored fresh and poured into a hot engine on an icy driveway, and after a derecho the gas station may have no power to pump.
- Cold starting. Push a button, or fight a pull cord at minus 20.
- Maintenance. Oil, carburetor, and monthly test runs for gas. A monthly top-up for the battery.
- Running cost. Sunlight is free. A three-day outage on gasoline is not.
- What gas still does better. A very long outage with no sun, and whole-house 240V at a low upfront cost. If that is your situation, a gas generator outdoors plus a battery indoors is a sound pairing.
Set-up checklist before the first storm
- Charge to full and top up monthly. Check the display on the first of each month, all year.
- Keep it indoors, above freezing. A closet, utility room, or heated basement, never an unheated garage.
- 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, furnace, and sump pump runs. Thin cords lose voltage and get warm.
- Test the furnace and sump pump on the battery once in autumn. If the furnace is hardwired, have an electrician add a plug-in connection, then run both off the battery for an hour in October.
- Keep the panels accessible and clear of snow. Store them where you can set them up on the south side without digging.
- Pair the HomePower 3600 Plus with a transfer switch if you want hardwired circuits like the furnace and sump pump. Licensed electrician only.
- Keep a battery-powered CO alarm regardless. A furnace, water heater, or a neighbor’s generator can still put CO in the house.
▶ Get the HomePower 3000 charged before the season turns use code DEAL5
Buy it before the season turns
The worst time to shop for backup is the day the forecast breaks, when the hardware stores are already picked clean. Get a unit charged and put away, and it’s ready whether the next hit is a January cold snap or a July wind event. Check the current deals before you need it.
Keep reading: Wisconsin solar incentives & costs · How to keep power during a Minnesota outage · How to keep power during a Michigan outage · How to keep power during an Iowa outage