I calculated how much money I've lost to power outages in the last 3 years.
Started tracking after a bad one in 2023. Here's my running tally for a family of 4 in suburban Houston:
Oct 2023: fridge and chest freezer, about $650 in food. Power was out 28 hours. July 2024 (Beryl): $1,220 in food plus 200oz of breast milk my wife had been pumping for months. Power out 8 days. Jan 2026 (winter storm): $480 in food, plus we had to throw out my daughter's ADHD medication that needs refrigeration. Power out 3 days. March 2026: $340 in fridge stuff. Power out 36 hours.
Total: roughly $2,700+ in direct food and medication losses. Not counting the hotel we booked during Beryl or the gas I burned driving around looking for ice.
At this point a battery station that keeps the fridge alive for 30+ hours would have paid for itself twice over. What are people here using specifically for fridge backup?