Tick what you need to keep running — fridge, broadband, the oil boiler, the well pump — and how long the lights might be out. We'll tell you the battery size that actually covers it, in watt-hours and euro, not marketing promises.
Averages already account for how often each appliance actually draws power (a fridge compressor only runs about a third of the time).
Most Irish faults are fixed in under 12 hours. After Storm Éowyn (January 2025), parts of the north-west waited over two weeks. Rural one-line areas should plan for more than a day.
Honest winter figure: Irish storms hit in winter, when a panel sees only ~1.2 equivalent sun-hours a day. This panel adds roughly 210 Wh a day to your battery — a summer outage would give 4–5× that. Runtimes below include this top-up.
| Size class | Typical models | Runs your load | Inverter | Typical price | Fit |
|---|
Runtimes assume ~85% usable energy after inverter losses. "Typical models" are the class, not an endorsement of a specific unit — compare current prices before buying.
Power station prices in Ireland swing 20–40% around sales events (and Éowyn-style storms empty the shelves in days — buy before the orange warning, not during it).
All brands deliver to Ireland with EU plugs and EU warranty
For most Irish homes: power station. Silent, no fumes (safe indoors), no fuel to store, instant switchover for broadband and medical kit. A petrol generator only wins for multi-day outages with heavy loads — and after Éowyn, petrol stations in affected areas had queues and outages too. The strongest rural setup is a mid-size power station plus solar panel input, or station + small generator to recharge it.
ESB Networks PowerCheck (powercheck.esbnetworks.ie) shows live faults and restoration estimates for every area in the Republic. Save it on your phone — it works on mobile data when your broadband is down.
Yes — this is the classic rural Irish use case. The burner, pump and controls only draw 100–200 W; it's the hardwiring that stops you. Once an electrician fits a plug/changeover on the boiler circuit, even a 1 kWh unit runs the heating for a day or more.
Out of scope for portable units. If you have night storage heating, plan around keeping one room warm with a stove or oil-filled radiator on the power station (500 W setting, short bursts).
LFP (LiFePO₄) units — now the standard — hold charge for months and take 3,000+ cycles. Store at 50–80%, top up when a status-orange or red weather warning is issued, and you'll always be ready.
Slowly, but usefully. Storms hit in winter, when Ireland sees only ~1–1.5 equivalent sun-hours a day, so a 220 W folding panel realistically adds about 0.2 kWh per day — enough to run a router, phones and LED lights indefinitely, though it won't keep up with a fridge on its own. In a multi-day, Éowyn-class outage that trickle is the difference between rationing the battery and riding it out. A summer outage would give you 4–5× as much. Tick the solar option in Step 2 and the runtimes above count it honestly at the winter rate.