Medical Equipment at Home? Why Battery Backup Isn’t Optional Anymore

Medical Equipment at Home? Why Battery Backup Isn't Optional Anymore

For households with electricity-dependent medical equipment — oxygen concentrators, CPAP machines, dialysis equipment, powered wheelchairs and mobility devices, or refrigerated medications — a power outage isn't just an inconvenience. It's a genuine safety risk, and one that's become more frequent and less predictable as California utilities have increasingly relied on Public Safety Power Shutoffs to manage wildfire risk. California utilities offer qualified homes and individuals discounts on their energy bill and complimentary batteries

Why medical baseline programs aren't a full solution

California utilities offer Medical Baseline programs that provide some accommodations for customers with qualifying medical conditions, including advance notification for planned outages and, in some cases, discounted rates. These programs are genuinely useful, but they don't provide backup power itself — a Medical Baseline customer still loses power during a PSPS event or storm-related outage, just with somewhat more notice and communication than a standard customer.

Why advance notice alone isn't enough

Notice helps with planning, but it doesn't solve the underlying problem for equipment that needs continuous power. A household relying on an oxygen concentrator or CPAP machine still needs an actual power source during the outage itself, whether that's a portable battery, a generator, or a whole-home backup system. Advance notice can help a household arrange to relocate temporarily, but that's a significant burden to place on someone managing a serious medical condition, especially if outages recur multiple times in a season.

What backup power options actually work for medical equipment

Portable battery packs can run smaller medical devices for limited periods but often lack the capacity for equipment that needs to run continuously for days. Generators can provide more power but require fuel, ventilation, and manual operation that may not be practical for someone managing a medical condition alone. A home battery system, especially one paired with solar, provides automatic, continuous backup power without requiring fuel runs or manual intervention, and can be sized specifically around the continuous power draw of medical equipment alongside other essential circuits.

Why this decision shouldn't wait for the next outage

For households with a genuine medical need for continuous power, the time to establish reliable backup is before the next PSPS event or outage, not during one. Medical Baseline enrollment, combined with a properly sized home battery system, addresses both the notification gap and the actual power gap that a Medical Baseline program alone leaves unaddressed. If your household relies on electricity-dependent medical equipment and you want a backup power system built around that need, My Home & Solar Solutions can help you design one. Visit myhomesolution.org to get started.