Emergency Accessories
The small, cheap items that decide whether the expensive ones are any use: carbon monoxide alarms, lanterns, power meters, cables and battery packs, mostly between $30 and $320.
Two of these are not optional if you own a fuel generator. A carbon monoxide alarm is the only thing standing between a badly placed generator and a preventable death, and a plug-in watt meter is how you find out what your appliances actually draw rather than what the label claims — which is usually the difference between a correctly sized system and a guess.
13 products
Goal Zero
Goal Zero Light-A-Life Mini Chainable LED Lights (4-Pack, with Shades)
0.6 lb
$79.95
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First Alert
First Alert SC9120B Hardwired Combination Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Alarm with Battery Backup
0.7 lb
$53.98
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First Alert
First Alert SMCO100 Battery-Operated Combination Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Alarm
1 lb
$36.45
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Which of these actually matters?
If you run a fuel generator: a carbon monoxide alarm, no argument. After that, a watt meter, because sizing a power station from label ratings rather than measured draw is how people end up with a unit that will not start their fridge. Everything else on this page is convenience.
Where do I put a CO alarm?
One on every level of the house and one outside each sleeping area. Carbon monoxide mixes fairly evenly with air, so height matters less than coverage does. Test them when the clocks change and replace the whole unit at the end-of-life date — the sensors expire, typically after 7–10 years, regardless of the battery.
How do I use a watt meter to size a power station?
Plug the appliance through the meter and watch it for a full cycle — a fridge compressor runs and rests, so a single instantaneous reading tells you very little. Note the running watts and the peak. Feed those into the calculator and you get a figure based on your appliances rather than on averages.
Are rechargeable lanterns better than battery ones?
For an outage that lasts hours, a rechargeable lantern is brighter and cheaper to run. For a kit you leave untouched for years, alkaline or lithium primary cells win, because a rechargeable pack that has been self-discharging in a drawer since 2023 is dead when you need it. Many people keep one of each for that reason.