Most people picture South Carolina’s hurricane risk on the coast (Charleston, Myrtle Beach, the barrier islands) and for years, the evidence backed that up. Hurricane Matthew came ashore in October 2016 and left roughly 268,000 to 286,000 SCE&G customers without power at the peak, almost all of them along the coast in Charleston, Beaufort, Dorchester, and Colleton counties, with the last homes back on nearly a week later. Then in September 2024, Hurricane Helene rewrote the map: its remnants barreled straight into the Upstate and battered Greenville, an inland area that almost never takes a direct hit, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands and proving the coast has no monopoly on this risk. South Carolina has no regional grid operator to import power in a pinch; the lights here run through Duke Energy Carolinas, Dominion Energy South Carolina (formerly SCE&G), and Santee Cooper, each rebuilding its own lines after a major storm. If you’re comparing South Carolina solar quotes, settle the backup question before you sign.
The outage map is bigger than the coast
It’s tempting to think backup only matters if you live where the surge comes ashore. Matthew already complicated that story in 2016, reaching into Richland County and the Midlands on its way up the coast. Helene erased any doubt in 2024, putting the mountains and the Upstate in the dark for days. Add the ice storms and severe thunderstorms that regularly hit the Midlands around Columbia, and long outages are a statewide risk, not a coastal one. And in any of them, your rooftop solar is no help on its own: a grid-tied system disconnects automatically when the grid fails, an anti-islanding rule that keeps power off the lines while crews work. Storage is what keeps your circuits alive.
Two storms, one pattern
Hurricane Matthew, October 2016. A major hurricane that stayed just offshore but still delivered a direct hit to South Carolina’s coast with wind, surge, and rain. SCE&G reported between 268,000 and 286,000 customers without power at the height of the storm, concentrated in Charleston, Beaufort, Dorchester, and Colleton counties, with outages also reaching inland to Richland County. Full restoration took nearly a week in the hardest-hit areas.
Hurricane Helene, September 2024. By the time Helene’s remnants reached South Carolina, it had already devastated western North Carolina, but the Upstate took its own direct hit. Greenville and the surrounding counties, areas that rarely see hurricane-force impacts this far from the coast, lost power to hundreds of thousands of customers, with some households waiting more than a week for restoration.
Sizing backup to the load
You don’t need to power the whole house, just the essentials: a fridge (about 150W), Wi-Fi (near 10W), phone charging (about 20W), and a few LED lights (roughly 50W for ten). A mid-size battery handles that core easily.
| Load | Typical draw | Energy per day |
|---|---|---|
| Fridge/freezer | ~150W running (cycling) | ~1,200Wh |
| Window or central AC (summer outage) | ~900 to 1,200W running | ~4,000 to 6,000Wh |
| 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 (Midlands or low-lying flooding) | ~800 to 1,300W while running | Intermittent, but critical |
Fridge, Wi-Fi, lights, and phones come to roughly 1,900Wh a day. Add AC for a summer hurricane, and the day’s draw climbs quickly, which is exactly what Matthew and Helene both asked of homes across the state.
The sensible starting point is the HomePower 3000. At roughly 3,072Wh and 3,600W it runs the essentials for one to two days, sits near 30 decibels, and is safe indoors because it produces zero exhaust. Its bundle includes solar panels, so it refills during daylight through a multi-day storm.
Current price of the HomePower 3000 at Jackery (panels included)
If central air makes your must-stay-on list, reasonable through a summer outage in Charleston or the Midlands, step up to the Solar Generator 5000 Plus. With 5,040Wh, 7,200W, both 120V and 240V, and expansion to 60kWh, it can carry cooling plus several rooms at once.
Solar Generator 5000 Plus at Jackery: 7,200W, 120V/240V
Matching the unit to the outage
| Unit | Capacity / output | Best for in South Carolina | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| HomePower 3000 | 3,072Wh · 3,600W · panels included | Essentials for 1 to 2 days of a coastal or Upstate storm outage | Check the price |
| HomePower 3600 Plus | 3,584Wh · 3,600W · to 21kWh | A Matthew- or Helene-scale multi-day restoration | Check the price |
| Solar Generator 5000 Plus | 5,040Wh · 7,200W · 120V/240V · to 60kWh | Central air through a summer hurricane outage | Check the price |
Where a gas generator falls short in a long outage
The reflex after a storm warning is to grab a gas generator, but they are a poor fit for a multi-day South Carolina outage: they’re loud, unsafe to run indoors or near the house, and stop once the fuel runs out and stations lose power too, exactly what happened across the coast after Matthew and inland after Helene. A solar generator needs no fuel, runs near silent, and recharges from its panels each day the sun returns, so it keeps going long after the gas cans are empty.
Compare all Jackery backup options
Set-up checklist before the next storm
- Charge to full as soon as a hurricane or tropical storm watch is issued: coast or Upstate.
- Keep it indoors, away from flood-prone basements or ground floors.
- Map which outlets and which loads matter. Fridge, AC, router, sump pump, one lamp per room.
- Buy extension cords rated for the load, especially for AC or a sump pump run.
- Test the AC and sump pump on the battery once before hurricane season.
- 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. Licensed electrician only.
- Keep a battery-powered CO alarm regardless: a neighbor’s gas generator can still put CO in your house.
Keep reading: South Carolina solar incentives & costs · Do North Carolina homes need battery backup? · Portable solar power for renters in Atlanta · Best battery backup for Florida hurricanes · Solar generator vs gas generator