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Medical equipmentOxygen and CPAP when the power goes out.
For most homes a blackout is an inconvenience. If someone in your house runs an oxygen concentrator, a CPAP, a nebulizer, or dialysis, it is a medical event — and it is one you can plan for calmly, well before it happens. Here is how.
The goal is simple: never let a power outage become an emergency about power. That means knowing exactly what your equipment needs, having more than one way to run it, and making the calls to your utility and your supplier now, while everything is working and nobody is stressed.
This page helps you build a backup plan. It does not replace your doctor or your equipment supplier — they know your specific device, settings, and needs. Use this to know what questions to ask them, and make those calls before you need the answers.
Your backup power plan, step by step.
Register with your utility's medical baseline program
Most electric utilities have a free medical baseline or medical certificate program. Enrolling flags your address for extra advance notice of outages and planned shutoffs, and can mean priority when power is restored. Call and ask to join.
Know your numbers
Write down the watts each device draws and how many hours you need to cover overnight or over a multi-day outage. The label on the device or your supplier can tell you. Every backup option is measured against this number.
Set up backup power
A CPAP often runs happily from a battery pack or a portable power station — and using it without the heated humidifier stretches the battery further. An oxygen concentrator draws far more, so size your power station carefully and ask your supplier about a device-specific battery. Keep whatever you choose charged and ready.
Arrange backup oxygen
If you use an oxygen concentrator, ask your supplier about backup compressed-gas tanks for when the power is out, and how many hours they last at your flow rate. Store and secure them exactly as your supplier directs.
Write it all down
Keep a paper list of every device and its settings, your prescriptions and doses, your suppliers, and your doctors. Store it with your kit and your binder, not only on a phone that may be dead.
Plan where to go, and act early
Know which nearby facilities have backup power and how you would get yourself and your equipment there. When a power shutoff or storm is forecast, charge everything and top off oxygen in advance — do not wait for the lights to flicker.
Two things that hurt people every year.
- Never run a fuel generator indoors, in a garage, or near a window. Carbon monoxide is invisible and can be deadly within minutes. Keep generators well outside and downwind. For running equipment indoors, a battery power station is safer and quieter.
- Never improvise oxygen flow or medication. Do not change your prescribed settings to stretch a supply — call your supplier or provider and follow their guidance instead.
Questions people ask first.
Will my CPAP run on a battery?
Usually yes. Most CPAP machines run from a compatible battery pack or portable power station, and skipping the heated humidifier stretches the battery. Check your model's power draw and size the battery to the number of nights you want covered.
How do I power an oxygen concentrator in an outage?
Concentrators use a lot of power, so most people lean on backup compressed-oxygen tanks from their supplier during an outage, plus a portable concentrator with its own batteries for leaving the house. Ask your supplier what backup they provide and how long it lasts at your flow rate.
What is a medical baseline program, and how do I join?
It is a free utility program for households that depend on electrical medical equipment. It gives you extra advance notice of outages and planned shutoffs. Call your electric utility and ask to enroll — they will walk you through it.
Is a generator or a battery better?
For running equipment inside, a battery power station is usually safer and quieter. A fuel generator can provide more power for longer, but only ever outdoors, far from windows, because of carbon monoxide. Many households keep both, sized to their real runtime.
Want a plan built around your equipment?
A virtual readiness audit walks your home with you and leaves you a written plan that starts with whatever plugs into the wall to keep someone well.