Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
The lights just went out. Now what? Knowing what to do during a power outage in the first few minutes, and in the hours that follow, matters more than any gadget in your closet. Most outages are short, but the choices you make early decide whether a long one is a hassle or a real problem.
Quick pick: What to Do During a Power Outage
Power: Grid Doctor 300 Solar Generator
320Wh battery with a 100W solar panel, under 9 pounds. For phones, lights and a CPAP.
Check today’s price
Food: 1-Week Food Supply Ammo Can
2,000+ calories a day for one person for a week, shelf life of up to 25 years.
Check today’s price
Heat and cooking: VESTA Indoor Heater & Stove
No electricity needed and doubles as a stove. Use it with ventilation.
Check today’s price
This is the during-and-after playbook. If you want to get ready ahead of time, start with our guide on how to prepare for a power outage and our power outage emergency kit list. Here we focus on what to do during a power outage itself, hour by hour, once the power is gone.
What to do during a power outage: the quick answer
Switch to flashlights instead of candles, unplug electronics, keep the fridge and freezer closed and note the time, and report the outage to your utility. Put phones in low power mode and get news from a battery or hand-crank radio. At 4 hours, move perishables into a cooler at 40°F or below. Keep everyone in one warm (or cool) room, and never run a generator, grill or camp stove indoors. If heat or cold gets extreme, go to a community location with power.
What to do during a power outage: the first 15 minutes
- Get light the safe way. Reach for flashlights, headlamps or a battery lantern. The CDC recommends battery-powered lights instead of candles, gas lanterns or torches to cut the risk of fire.
- Find out if it’s just you. Look outside. If the neighbors still have lights, check your breaker panel. If the whole street is dark, report the outage to your utility and check its outage map on your phone.
- Unplug sensitive electronics. Ready.gov advises unplugging or turning off appliances and electronics, because power can come back with surges or spikes that damage them. Leaving one lamp switched on is an easy way to know when the power is back.
- Close the fridge and freezer, and note the time. That time stamp is the start of your food safety clock.
- Check on anyone who depends on power. Think medical devices, refrigerated medicine, babies, older relatives and neighbors who live alone.
Hours 1 to 4: settle in and protect your phone battery
One of the smartest things to know about what to do during a power outage: your phone is now your flashlight, news source and lifeline, so treat its battery like gold. Turn on low power mode, dim the screen and close apps you don’t need. Charge from a power bank first.
Charging in the car works, but only if the car is parked outside. The CDC warns never to leave a vehicle running in an enclosed space like a garage, because of carbon monoxide.
Get your news from a battery or hand-crank radio so you aren’t burning phone power on updates. Ready.gov lists a battery or hand-crank radio, plus a NOAA weather radio, as basic kit items.
If someone in your home relies on a CPAP machine, or you just want lights and phones covered for days, a small solar generator helps. The Grid Doctor 300 Solar Generator has a 320Wh LiFePO4 battery, 300W pure sine wave output and a 100W solar panel, and the maker lists CPAP machines, phones, laptops and lights among its intended uses. It is not designed for full-size refrigerators, microwaves or space heaters.
The 4-hour mark: make the fridge decision
According to the CDC and FoodSafety.gov, a closed refrigerator keeps food safe for up to 4 hours without power. A full freezer holds a safe temperature for about 48 hours, or about 24 hours if it is half full and the door stays closed.
If the power has been out for 4 hours, the CDC says to move refrigerated perishables into a cooler with ice or frozen gel packs and keep them at 40°F or below. Keep the freezer shut as long as you can.
From here, eat in this order: food that is still safe from the fridge, then shelf-stable pantry food. Shelf-stable meals take the pressure off. The 1-Week Food Supply Ammo Can provides 14,860 calories (2,000+ per day for one person for a week), and needs about 2.96 gallons of water to prepare everything. For a household, the 4-Week Emergency Food Supply covers one person for four weeks, two people for two weeks, or a family of four for one week.
Cooking without power
Never use a gas stove or oven to heat your home, and never use a charcoal grill, hibachi or portable camping stove indoors. Both are CDC warnings tied to carbon monoxide. Our guide to emergency cooking without power covers safe options in detail.
Night one: heat, cooling and carbon monoxide
Night is when an outage starts to feel serious, and knowing what to do during a power outage after dark matters most. Temperature is the big risk, in both directions.
If it’s cold
- Pick one small room, close the doors and gather everyone there.
- Dress in layers, add hats and wool socks, and use sleeping bags or extra blankets.
- Only use heat sources rated for indoor use, and follow the maker’s ventilation instructions.
- Watch for hypothermia. The CDC says to get medical attention right away if a person’s temperature is below 95°F.
For a small room, the VESTA Self-Powered Indoor Space Heater & Stove needs no electricity, runs its fan off its own heat, and doubles as a cooking surface. The maker says it warms areas up to 200 square feet and is designed for indoor use with adequate ventilation. See our guide to emergency heating without electricity for more options.
If it’s hot
The CDC advises against relying only on fans in extreme heat. Take cool showers, and head to an air-conditioned shelter, mall or library if your home gets too hot. Heat stroke is the most serious heat illness, and the CDC notes body temperature can reach 106°F or higher within 10 to 15 minutes.
Carbon monoxide rules that never bend
- Use a battery-powered or battery-backup carbon monoxide detector.
- Run a gas generator outdoors only, at least 20 feet from any window, door or vent (CDC and Ready.gov).
- Never run a generator in your home, basement or garage, even with the door open.
Day two and beyond: power outage tips for a longer haul
Once an outage passes a day, the question of what to do during a power outage shifts from comfort to supplies and health.
- Medicine: if the power was out for a day or more, the CDC says to throw away refrigerated medication unless the label says otherwise. For life-dependent drugs, use them only until you can get a new supply, and call your doctor or pharmacist.
- Water: safe water is bottled, boiled or treated. Follow your local health department if it issues a boil-water notice.
- Cash: card readers and ATMs may be down, so small bills help.
- Downed lines: never touch a fallen power line, and never drive through standing water if downed lines are in it.
- Know when to leave: Ready.gov says to go to a community location with power if heat or cold is extreme.
If your tap water becomes unsafe, a gravity filter works without electricity or plumbing. The Alexapure Pro Water Filtration System has 2.5-gallon chambers, and the maker says it has been tested against 220+ contaminants.
What to do during a power outage for fun
Once everyone is safe, a short outage can turn into a good night. Ideas that need no power and no open flame:
- Board games, card games and puzzles under a battery lantern
- Flashlight shadow puppets or a blanket fort for the kids
- Reading aloud, telling stories or a no-screens family talk
- Stargazing from a window or the yard, well away from any downed lines
- Writing letters, sketching or journaling
For fun alone: pick up a paper book, work a crossword, practice a few knots, or take stock of your kit and write down what you wish you had. Save your phone battery for news and calls, not games.
When the power comes back on
- Give it a few minutes, then plug electronics back in one at a time.
- Check your food. Ready.gov says to throw out food that has been at 40°F or higher for two hours or more, or that smells, looks or feels unusual. Never taste food to test it. When in doubt, throw it out.
- Check the freezer. Food that still has ice crystals or is at 40°F or below can be refrozen, though quality may suffer.
- Check medicines and replace refrigerated drugs as soon as possible.
- Restock what you used, while the lessons are fresh.
Quick power outage checklist
- Flashlights on, candles off
- Report the outage and unplug electronics
- Fridge and freezer closed, time noted
- Phones in low power mode, power banks ready
- At 4 hours: perishables into a cooler at 40°F or below
- One warm (or cool) room, CO detector running
- Generators outside, 20+ feet from openings
- After: check food, freezer and medicine
Power outage checklist template
Print this and tape it near your flashlights. Tick each box as you go.
| When | What to do | Done |
|---|---|---|
| First 15 minutes | Flashlights on, check the breaker and neighbors, report the outage, unplug electronics, close the fridge and note the time | ☐ |
| Hours 1 to 4 | Phones on low power mode, charge from power banks, battery radio on for news | ☐ |
| 4 hours | Perishables into a cooler with ice at 40°F or below, freezer stays shut | ☐ |
| Night one | Everyone in one room, layers or cooling, CO detector running, generator outside and 20+ feet from openings | ☐ |
| Day two and beyond | Check refrigerated medicine, drink only safe water, keep small bills, stay clear of downed lines | ☐ |
| Power back | Plug in one device at a time, check food, freezer and medicine, restock | ☐ |
How much do you need? Use our free Emergency Food Calculator to see exactly how many calories and gallons of water your family needs, from 72 hours to a full year.
For what causes a widespread blackout and what happens hour by hour, see our guide to power grid failure.
Related reading: How to Choose a Generator for Power Outages.
Related reading: Kerosene Heater Safety Guide.
Frequently asked questions
What should you not do during a power outage?
Don’t open the fridge and freezer more than you must, don’t heat your home with a gas stove or oven, and don’t use grills, camp stoves or generators indoors. Don’t touch downed power lines. Those are the mistakes that turn an outage into an emergency. Knowing what not to do matters as much as knowing what to do during a power outage.
What to do during a power outage with the fridge?
Keep it closed. Food stays safe for up to 4 hours with the door closed. A full freezer holds about 48 hours, and a half-full one about 24 hours, per FoodSafety.gov.
Are candles safe during a power outage?
The CDC recommends battery-powered flashlights and lanterns instead. If you must use candles, keep them away from anything flammable and never leave them burning unattended.
What to do during a power outage at night with kids?
Give each child their own flashlight or headlamp, keep everyone in one room, and keep the routine as normal as you can. A battery lantern in the main room makes the dark much less scary, and it is far safer than candles.
What should I do during a power outage at night?
Use flashlights or headlamps, not candles. Gather everyone in one room, keep phones on low power mode, and make sure a battery-powered CO detector is running. Leave one lamp switched on so you know when the power comes back.
What to do during a power outage in winter?
Close off one small room, dress in layers with hats and wool socks, and add sleeping bags or blankets. Only use heaters rated for indoor use, with ventilation, and never heat your home with a gas stove or oven. If the cold gets extreme, go to a community location with power.
Is there a power outage checklist template I can print?
Yes. Use the checklist template table above. It runs from the first 15 minutes to the moment the power comes back, with a box to tick for each step.
The bottom line
What to do during a power outage comes down to a few habits: light without flame, keep the cold in, protect your phone, respect the 4-hour fridge rule and never bring fuel-burning equipment inside. Do those well and most outages stay boring, which is exactly what you want. Then use what you learned to fill the gaps in your kit before the next one, and print the checklist above so everyone in the house knows what to do during a power outage.
Sources: Ready.gov: Power Outages, Ready.gov: Build a Kit, CDC: Protect Yourself During a Power Outage, CDC: Keep Food Safe After a Disaster, FoodSafety.gov. Product details are from My Patriot Supply product pages as of October 27, 2026.