Will my Wi-Fi work in a power outage?

Not unless your modem and router have backup power. Put them on a small UPS or a home battery. If your provider's network also loses power, you'll need a cellular hotspot or an LTE-backup router.

Can a home battery run my gas furnace?

Yes. A gas furnace needs only a few hundred watts for its blower and ignition, which a home battery handles easily, but it has to be wired through a backup panel or transfer switch by an electrician.

Is a UPS enough for working from home?

For short blips, yes. A small UPS gives your computer and router minutes of power, enough to save work. For outages that last hours, you need a home battery or generator.

Battery Backup for Working From Home in Illinois

Quick answer

A home battery keeps a home office running through most outages: it switches on automatically, powers your router, modem and computer, and runs the furnace fan in winter. Put a small UPS on your computer and router to bridge the brief switchover, and keep a phone hotspot or LTE backup in case your internet provider's own network goes down.

Will my internet work in a power outage?

Only if your own equipment has power. Your modem, router and, for fiber, the optical network terminal (ONT) all plug into the wall, so they go dark with everything else. AT&T says each of those devices needs its own battery backup and sells a 24-hour backup kit for around $450, though it warns that using internet on backup drains stored power quickly.

Even with power at home, the internet can drop if the provider's network loses power too. Comcast's Storm-Ready WiFi router, launched in 2023, has a four-hour battery and switches to a cellular connection when the cable line goes down.

What does a home office need to keep running?

Internet gear: modem, router and any fiber ONT. A router and modem draw about 10 to 20 watts, per Champion Power Equipment's chart.
Your computer and monitor. A laptop can ride out a short outage on its own battery; a desktop shuts off instantly.
Heat in winter. A gas furnace can't run without electricity: its blower and electronic ignition need power, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found the blower uses about 80% of a furnace's electricity. Champion's chart lists a 1/2 HP furnace fan at 300 to 800 watts.
Phones and lights, which add little.

Never power a hardwired furnace by plugging it into a generator or power station through an outlet. A battery or generator for the furnace needs an electrician-installed transfer switch or backup panel.

Should I get a UPS or a whole-home battery?

They do different jobs. A small UPS (uninterruptible power supply) is a plug-in battery that keeps a computer and router on for minutes, not hours: APC's Back-UPS CS 500 lists about 14 minutes at half load, enough to save your work and shut down cleanly.

A home battery keeps the whole office and the furnace running for hours. Tesla's Powerwall 3 datasheet describes an automatic disconnect for seamless backup, and owners report the switch takes a fraction of a second, which a laptop never notices but can reboot a desktop. Pairing a small UPS on the desktop and router with a home battery covers both. ComEd and Ameren pay about $300 per kWh toward a home battery. See what a home battery costs.

How long would a battery keep a home office running?

Many workdays. At the top of Champion's ranges, a furnace fan, a refrigerator, a router and modem and a few LED lights draw about 1.3 kW if they all ran at once, before your computer. A full 13.5 kWh battery would cover roughly 10 hours of that nonstop, and longer in practice, because the furnace fan and refrigerator cycle on and off. With solar, the battery can recharge on sunny days during a multi-day outage.

Most outages are far shorter than that, but big storms can last a day or more. See the biggest Illinois power outages since 2020 and what a home battery can run.

What if my internet provider goes down too?

Have a cellular backup. T-Mobile notes you can use your phone as a hotspot, but warns it drains your phone battery, uses data and slows things down. Some mesh Wi-Fi systems, such as eero, can switch to a nearby hotspot automatically when your wired internet drops.

About 13.3% of U.S. workers worked primarily from home in 2024, according to Census survey data reported by the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, and many more work from home part of the week.

Sources

This guide is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice. Incentive programs change, so confirm current terms with your installer, your utility and a tax professional.

Battery backup for working from home in Illinois