Home backup power for renters: a blackout plan without touching the wiring

You don't need to touch the wiring to have backup power in a rental. A portable power station sits on the floor, gets charged from a normal power point before the storm, and runs the fridge, modem and lights straight from its own outlets once the power's gone. Nothing is attached to the house, so there's nothing to ask the owner about, and it goes with you when you move. For a fridge, the internet and a few lamps through a day-long blackout, we'd start at about 1kWh.

The rental rules below are Queensland's, from the Residential Tenancies Authority, and the safety advice comes from Energex and the Queensland Fire Department. Other states have their own tenancy laws, so check yours. Station specs are from EcoFlow's Australian pages, and the runtimes are sums, not measurements.

Why renters skip the wiring

Homeowners sometimes have a licensed electrician fit a changeover switch or a generator inlet so backup power can feed chosen circuits. In a rental that's a fixture, and the RTA says it's a breach of the agreement to attach a fixture or make a structural change without the owner's written approval. You'd ask on the RTA's Form 23, the owner has 28 days to reply in writing, and no reply doesn't count as a yes. Even with approval, it's a permanent change to a house you'll probably leave.

A power station avoids all that. Energex makes the same point in its backup power advice, calling portable power stations a great option if you're renting or thinking of moving. The trade-off is that it doesn't switch on by itself in a blackout like a fixed system would. You carry the fridge plug over to it.

What you must never do is the shortcut. Don't plug a station, inverter or generator into a power point to feed the house through a homemade double-ended lead. Energex says this can send power back into the network and give life-threatening shocks to you, your neighbours and the crews fixing the lines. In a rental it's also the owner's wiring you'd be putting at risk.

A worked plan for a 1kWh station

Take the EcoFlow DELTA 3 Plus. EcoFlow lists 1,024Wh, four AC outlets with 1,800W between them, and a weight of up to 12.5kg, so it's liftable for most people and fits in a hall cupboard. Allow 15% for conversion losses and you've got about 1,024 x 0.85 = 870Wh to spend. The 0.85 is our assumption.

Now a typical renter's blackout. These are example loads, so check the labels on your own gear:

The fridge figure comes from the Energy Rating label. 400kWh a year is 400,000 / 365 = 1,096Wh a day, so 12 hours of it is about 548Wh. Add the rest and you're at 808Wh, inside the 870Wh with a little to spare. That's a day and a night for the essentials. Our fridge guide explains how to run the fridge in blocks, and Queensland Health's rule is to throw out refrigerated food that's been above 5°C for more than four hours.

If your outages are shorter, or you only care about the internet and lights, a smaller station does it. The EcoFlow RIVER 3 Plus is 286Wh with 600W of AC output, and our small station guide works the sums for that load. It won't carry a fridge for long.

Keep the modem up without lifting a finger

The one load worth automating is the internet. EcoFlow lists a UPS switchover of under 10ms on the DELTA 3 Plus. Leave the station plugged into a power point and the modem plugged into the station, and when the power drops the modem carries on from the battery. That's still not touching the wiring: the station is an appliance plugged into the wall, the same as a lamp.

Leave the fridge on the wall as normal and move its plug over when a blackout drags on. It doesn't need the instant switchover, and a few minutes without power won't hurt it.

Charging and storing it in a unit

Lithium batteries hold a lot of energy, and in a unit there's often no garage. The Queensland Fire Department says to charge on a hard non-combustible surface like tiles or concrete, in a ventilated spot, while you're home, and away from bedding, couches, carpet and curtains. A tiled laundry or kitchen floor works. Have working smoke alarms, and don't use a station that's hot, swollen, leaking, hissing or smells odd.

For storage, QFD says somewhere cool and dry, out of direct sun and away from heat sources, at about 40% charge for long-term storage. Makers give their own figure, and our storage guide has those. Before storm season, charge it to full. When it's eventually done, never put it in a household bin. Ask your council, or find a drop-off through B-cycle.

Solar on a rented balcony

A folding solar panel propped on the balcony or in the yard is still portable, so it's yours to use. Screwing panels or brackets to the building is a fixture again, and in a unit block the RTA notes body corporate by-laws can limit it on top of the owner's approval. Keep it freestanding, tie it down in wind, and bring it inside before a storm hits. The DELTA 3 Plus takes 11 to 60V on its solar inputs, so check a panel against that range. Our solar pairing guide goes through the numbers.

What to tell your property manager

Nothing, as a rule, because a plug-in appliance doesn't need approval. If you ever want something fixed, like an inlet for a generator, put it in writing on Form 23, use a licensed electrician if it's approved, and keep a copy of the approval.

Where to buy in Australia

Buying from the brand's Australian store means 230V AU outlets, the local warranty and local support. Prices move around a lot, so check on the day.

• EcoFlow DELTA 3 PlusEcoFlow AustraliaSee it at EcoFlow Australia
• EcoFlow RIVER 3 PlusEcoFlow AustraliaSee it at EcoFlow Australia