Losing power, lacking backup: Homeowners brace for more outages

Two-thirds of American homeowners have already experienced a power outage in 2026 — and nearly three-quarters of those affected are worried they’ll experience another within the next year.

That’s according to a new survey of 2,000 American homeowners, which found nearly three in five (59%) are concerned about power outages becoming more common where they live.

The study conducted by Talker Research on behalf of Sunrun (https://www.sunrun.com/) revealed that despite expecting an increased frequency of outages, many Americans admit just how unprepared they are for when the lights go out.

Although the average homeowner rated their “household preparedness” for a power outage at 6.6 out of 10, 41% don’t currently have any of the emergency power resources surveyed, such as a portable generator, portable power station, home battery backup, whole-home generator or solar panels with battery storage.

In fact, nearly half (47%) of homeowners said they have experienced a “power outage reality check” that made them realize they weren’t even close to being prepared.

When asked what poses the biggest threat to their area’s power reliability, homeowners overwhelmingly viewed severe storms as the primary threat. In fact, when combined with winter weather and extreme heat, weather-related events captured more than half of all respondents’ concerns.

And homeowners aren’t necessarily confident the power grid can keep pace with changing electricity demands. Only a third (38%) are confident their local grid can reliably meet increased electricity demand from data centers.

Adding to their fears about pending blackouts, 75% are concerned that the growing number of data centers in the U.S. could play a role in future outages.

“Power outages are no longer something homeowners only think about when a major storm is approaching,” said Mary Powell, Chief Executive Officer of Sunrun. “Americans are concerned about the availability and reliability of their power supply and are seeking the peace of mind that comes from being prepared with home backup power for when the grid goes down.”

For homeowners who have already experienced an outage this year, the households experienced an average of three outages.

And their most recent outage lasted an average of 5.5 hours, although some homeowners reported going without power for days.

The consequences went well beyond sitting in the dark. Among those who said they experienced an outage, the greatest disruptions included losing heating or cooling (57%), food spoilage (48%) and losing internet or cell service (44%).

Nearly one-third of homeowners (32%) have even sought shelter at the home of a family member, friend or neighbor during an outage because that household still had electricity from the grid or a source of backup power.

The stakes were even higher for the 28% of homeowners who said someone in their household relies on electricity for a health-related need.

Among those households, electrically dependent needs included refrigerated prescription medications such as insulin (39%), CPAP machines (36%), oxygen equipment (30%) and medical monitoring devices such as glucose monitors (29%).

Of those who lost power at their homes, 48% reported making a change to prepare for the next blackout. In terms of which improvement would make them feel most prepared for the next outage, 47% said a backup power source – the top answer by 18 points.

“A power outage can quickly become more than an inconvenience when it affects the essentials families rely on every day, from keeping food and medications refrigerated to maintaining a safe temperature at home,” Powell added. “Home battery storage paired with solar can provide greater energy resilience by helping keep critical parts of the home running when the grid goes down.”