I keep modem, fridge, cameras on backup power

For everyday life, the biggest risk in a blackout isn’t just darkness—it’s losing Wi-Fi, watching food spoil, or going blind on your home security. A smart home reviewer keeps three essentials permanently connected to a power station: her modem and router, her

When the lights go out, most people think about one thing: what happens to the fridge. But for Maria Diaz, the real panic often starts much earlier—right where work and daily life depend on a stable connection.

She says she always keeps three devices connected to a power station. The goal is simple: avoid the most common surprises during an outage by making sure the essentials stay online, even when everything else drops.

Her approach is rooted in experience. Power stations are usually treated like emergency gear—something you roll out when you need them. But she keeps a few devices permanently connected, turning the power station into a kind of always-ready uninterruptible power supply. As a smart home tech reviewer. she also says she’s gotten creative about how she uses the setups she tests—larger systems for whole-home backup. smaller ones as UPS for the things that keep the household running.

The first device she powers is her internet modem and router.

“Since power outages are relatively common in my area. ” she explains. she added a portable battery as a UPS for her modem. The reason is practical and personal. In 2026. she says she looks at the modem and router first because. after the shift to portable devices like laptops. tablets. and phones. losing home Wi-Fi is now the biggest interruption in her day.

She describes a working-from-home reality with her husband: both rely on a steady connection. In many suburban or urban outages, mobile networks can quickly get congested as customers reconnect at the same time, slowing service when people need it most.

Her battery choice reflects that she doesn’t need to run a whole house—just enough to keep the network alive. She says the low power draw of a modem and router means she can use a modest 1kWh battery to keep Wi-Fi running for a few days during a blackout.

She uses an EcoFlow River 3 Plus, which she says is pretty small at 286Wh, but can power her modem and router for a full workday. She also mentions an Anker Solix C1000 with 1,056kWh capacity as a more extended option that could power the same setup for three times as long.

Her reasoning isn’t theoretical. On a recent trip, she accidentally turned off the circuit for her modem and router—remotely. The result was immediate: she couldn’t monitor her dog overnight on any of their cameras. and the family had to drive back early. Her neighbor checked on the pup, but she didn’t have access to turn the circuit back on. Diaz says that if she had a UPS on her modem and router. she could have turned the circuit back on remotely because she wouldn’t have lost her connection.

The second device she keeps connected is the refrigerator.

She notes that during outages, people naturally think about preventing food loss. Modern refrigerators, she says, use between 1-2kWh a day—low compared with what many people expect from a major appliance.

For Diaz, the refrigerator is a good fit for a portable battery charged with solar power, since it can run effectively on one and save $8-$20 a month. But she adds that a power station can also keep it running during an outage.

What matters, she says, is checking the refrigerator’s specifications before connecting it. Beyond daily use—she cites 1kWh to 2kWh a day—most modern fridges draw between 100W and 300W when the compressor is running. That compressor cycles on and off throughout the day, but she also warns of surges of 600W to 1,500W.

For her recommendation, she says a minimum of 2,000Wh makes sense, if the budget allows, because it offers extra buffer for longer outages.

As examples, she points to the EcoFlow Delta 3 Max Series with 2,048Wh capacity and a 3,000W output. She also mentions the Anker Solix C2000, which she says has the same capacity and a 2,400W output. Either one, she says, can keep a full-size refrigerator running for up to three days.

She gives a smaller benchmark too: a 1,024W battery can keep one running for up to 16 hours.

The third essential she keeps connected is security cameras and systems.

Diaz treats a power outage as one of those moments when home security has to keep working, not disappear. She describes how outages create uncertainty—when people want to check their homes, monitor storm damage, or make sure family members arrive safely more often during an outage.

She says it’s less than ideal to spend hundreds of dollars on a security system that goes dark when the power goes out. Some systems include built-in backup power that runs for a predetermined number of minutes before shutting down. Battery-powered cameras can help, but they rely on consistent networking to stay connected.

That’s where her setup connects back to the earlier choice: she can keep the network running using a power station for her router and modem. But she adds that her camera hub or individual cameras also need power.

Keeping cameras and/or the hub connected to a UPS, she says, helps ensure you don’t lose surveillance coverage. Still, she emphasizes that people should back up what’s needed for the security system to function. If someone has mostly battery-powered cameras. she recommends backing up power on a hub or base station. a PoE switch for wired cameras. or an NVR.

As a practical example, she says she’s a fan of Eufy’s home security lineup and recommends the HomeBase 3 for local storage. She warns that losing the hub means cameras won’t record new footage, motion detection may be limited, and remote access will disappear.

And she doesn’t push for a massive battery for this part. Diaz says you don’t even need a huge battery, and that a battery as small as an EcoFlow River 3—she lists its 3,000W output and 245Wh capacity—would prevent these cameras from going offline.

power station uninterruptible power supply modem and router UPS refrigerator backup power security cameras power outage EcoFlow River 3 Plus EcoFlow Delta 3 Max Anker Solix C2000 HomeBase 3 Eufy home security smart home power