When the power goes out, having several types of emergency lighting around your home can make a big difference. A bright lantern can light an entire room and a headlamp keeps both hands free. Automatic emergency lights can come on before you even have time to find a flashlight, which is especially useful during an earthquake.

These are the power outage lights I use at home, along with a few other emergency lighting options I think are useful for blackouts, earthquakes, winter storms, and other emergencies. Some of the most useful options are surprisingly simple—including a 10-lumen solar garden light.

Streamlight Siege 200-Lumen Lantern

For a small battery-powered lantern, I like the Streamlight 44941 Siege. It produces up to 200 lumens and runs on three AA batteries.

At full brightness, it runs for about 7 hours. On its 50-lumen low setting, runtime increases to about 37 hours, which could be particularly useful during an extended power outage.

The light is diffused rather than harsh, so it is easier on the eyes than a bare flashlight beam. It is also compact at roughly 5½ inches tall and has an IPX7 waterproof rating. The downside is that it isn’t one of the least expensive lanterns available.

Key features:

• 200 lumens for about 7 hours
• 50 lumens for about 37 hours
• Uses three AA batteries
• Soft, diffused light
• IPX7 waterproof rating
• Compact size

For a bedroom nightstand or other place where you want a dependable light that can sit unused until an emergency, this is one of my favorite choices.

Lepro 1,000-Lumen Lantern

For lighting a much larger area, I use a 1,000-lumen Lepro rechargeable lantern.

At full brightness, 1,000 lumens is enough to illuminate a large room. It can run for approximately 6.5 hours at 1,000 lumens or up to 12 hours at about 300 lumens. It uses a rechargeable USB battery.

This gives it a different role from the smaller Streamlight. I prefer the Streamlight where long runtime and replaceable batteries are important, while the Lepro is useful when I want considerably more light.

GearLight Headlamp

A headlamp is one of the most useful emergency lights to keep around because it leaves both hands free.

That can be valuable if you need to turn off utilities, move objects, make repairs, cook, provide first aid, or walk around outside after an earthquake.

The GearLight headlamp uses three AAA batteries. Its high setting provides about 200 lumens for roughly 3–5 hours, while its low setting is approximately 10 lumens and can last around 10 hours. It is also IPX4 water resistant, has an adjustable tilt, and is relatively inexpensive as a two-headlamp package.

Keeping one handy such as your nightstand or near your computer can be particularly useful because you can immediately put it on during a nighttime power outage and still have both hands available.

Energizer Ultimate Lithium AA and AAA Batteries

The batteries you store with emergency lights matter too.

I use Energizer Ultimate Lithium AA and AAA batteries in many of my emergency lights and radios. Energizer says these batteries last longer than alkaline batteries, can hold power for up to 25 years in storage, and are 100% leak-proof under normal use.

They also contain more usable energy than typical alkaline batteries. Unlike rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, these are non-rechargeable primary lithium cells, so they don’t have the same charging-related fire and thermal-runaway risks. They can still overheat, vent, or ignite if short-circuited, damaged, or exposed to excessive heat. 

For emergency equipment that may sit unused for years, the long storage life and resistance to leakage are important advantages.

Emergency Weather Radio With Built-In Light

An emergency weather radio can provide lighting while also filling several other preparedness roles.

The model I use receives seven NOAA weather channels as well as AM/FM radio. It includes a 140-lumen flashlight, a 2,000 mAh rechargeable battery, a hand crank, and a small solar panel.

The internal battery can also provide a partial emergency charge to a mobile phone. I wouldn’t depend on the small solar panel or hand crank as my primary way to recharge a phone, but both provide additional backup options when normal power isn’t available.

This makes an emergency radio useful even if you already own several lanterns and flashlights.

Solar Garden Lights: Surprisingly Useful During a Blackout

One of the less obvious power outage lighting options is something many people already have outside: solar garden lights.

I use Beau Jardin solar pathway lights, which produce about 10 lumens. That isn’t enough to brightly illuminate a room, but it is enough to help you safely move around without walking into furniture or other obstacles.

During a prolonged outage, you can bring the lights indoors at night and put them back outside during the day to recharge.

They can also be useful if you have to evacuate your house at night after an earthquake or fire, because the outdoor lights can help illuminate pathways without requiring you to find or activate anything.

The Beau Jardin lights use a replaceable 950 mAh AA NiMH rechargeable battery. The manufacturer advertises up to 12 hours of light, including winter operation. I also like their design because the bulb points downward rather than directly into your eyes, and they make an attractive pathway light during normal use.

Some of these solar lights may begin wearing out after around five years, but the replaceable battery is an advantage compared with lights that have permanently sealed batteries.

Automatic Emergency Lights for Power Failures

Another useful layer of home emergency lighting is a light that automatically turns on when the electricity goes out.

That is especially helpful when an outage happens in the middle of the night. Instead of waking up in complete darkness during an earthquake and searching for a flashlight, you immediately have some illumination.

I use Amerelle LED emergency lights in my own home. The model in the video has a useful life of roughly five years and uses NiMH rechargeable batteries. NiMH batteries generally present a lower fire risk than lithium-ion rechargeable batteries.

One caution applies to rechargeable products in general: I found three fire-hazard reports among roughly 2,000 Amazon reviews for this particular light. That doesn’t necessarily mean a product is unsafe, but when I evaluate rechargeable emergency equipment, I think it is worthwhile to search customer reviews specifically for terms such as “fire.”

Automatic emergency lights still provide a capability that ordinary lanterns and flashlights don’t: they work immediately when the outage begins.

Glow Sticks

Glow sticks aren’t a substitute for a lantern or flashlight, but they can still have a role in emergency lighting.

The military-style glow sticks I tested produce roughly 2–5 lumens. They are very faint compared with an LED flashlight or lantern, and mine faded in less than 12 hours.

Where they can be useful is marking obstacles or locations rather than illuminating an entire room. For example, you could place one next to a stairway, doorway, bathroom, or other location people need to find in the dark.

They are also inexpensive, non-toxic, and can be fun for kids during a blackout.

I would consider glow sticks a supplemental emergency item rather than a primary light source.

Solar Power Bank With Built-In Lights

A solar power bank can combine emergency lighting with backup power for a phone.

My older compact solar power bank has four fold-out solar panels, a built-in light, and a 25,000 mAh battery. In good sunlight, the panels can slowly add a useful amount of charge.

If I were buying one today, I would choose the 20,000 mAh BLAVOR solar power bank featured on the page. It has four foldable solar panels, 18-watt power delivery, two built-in lights, and a compass. It is rated IPX5 and is designed to be waterproof, dustproof, and shock resistant.

Its 20,000 mAh battery represents roughly four smartphone recharges, depending on the phone and charging losses.

The important limitation is solar charging speed. Small panels on a portable power bank don’t generate anything close to the power of a full-size solar panel. Think of the solar panels as a way to slowly add useful charge in good sunlight, rather than as a fast way to completely recharge the power bank.

What Are the Best Lights for a Power Outage?

There isn’t one light that is best for every situation. I prefer to have several different types available:

• A small AA lantern for dependable, long-runtime room lighting
• A bright rechargeable lantern when I need to illuminate a large room
• A headlamp when I need both hands free
• Automatic emergency lights so I’m not left in complete darkness when an outage begins
• An emergency weather radio that also provides light and communications
• Solar garden lights for low-level indoor lighting and outdoor pathways
• Glow sticks for marking obstacles or locations and making it fun for the kids
• A solar power bank as another source of light and limited backup charging

The best power outage lighting setup is less about finding a single perfect flashlight and more about having several complementary ways to produce light. Battery-powered, rechargeable, automatic, and solar options each have advantages, and together they provide much better backup if an outage lasts longer than expected.

Links to all the lights discussed are up above. If you’d like to learn about the Best Emergency Earthquake Kits click here.