Texas homeowners know all too well how extreme weather can upend their power supply. In February 2021’s winter storm, about 2.7 million Texas households lost electricity (often for days on end). Subsequent summers of heat and storms have also threatened the grid – for example, one report notes that 3.5 million Texans lost power during a recent heat event. Such crises — which at times have left families stranded without heat or refrigeration — have made energy security a priority. In response, many Texas residents are adding their own private electrical grids (also called home microgrids or backup systems) to keep the lights on. These private setups let a home generate and store its own power (with solar panels, batteries, or generators) so it can operate even if the public grid fails.
Homeowners and businesses across Texas—from urban apartments to rural ranches—are now exploring these options. As one Texas electrician put it, the “Big Freeze” of 2021 “took everybody by surprise,” shutting off power to over 4.5 million Texas homes and businesses and resulting in hundreds of fatalities and multi-billion-dollar damages. In the storm’s aftermath demand for home backup systems “suddenly rose” in communities like San Antonio. The result: companies that design residential microgrids and batteries report booming orders. For instance, a recent NBC News report found one installer had seen a “tenfold increase in residential demand” for whole-home microgrid systems in just six months. Texas families who once weathered outages with candles, coolers, and space heaters are now investing tens of thousands of dollars in their own backup power equipment.
Even utilities and policymakers have taken notice. The Texas Legislature recently passed bills to make it easier to add home energy systems. For example, Senate Bill 1202 aims to streamline permitting for home backup generation and solar installations, explicitly citing the need to “fortify Texas homes” against disasters like Winter Storm Uri (which “left 2.7 million households in the dark”). Lawmakers also allocated billions for a state “Backup Power Package” – a program offering incentives for businesses (and critical facilities) to install solar, batteries, or generators. These efforts reflect a growing view that distributed, home-based power systems are a key part of Texas’s energy resilience strategy.
In this article we explain what private home power systems are, why Texans are buying them, how they work, and what homeowners need to know – from costs and safety to local examples. (We’ll speak as licensed electricians advising fellow Texas residents, but stay neutral and factual in tone.)...
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