If the power went out tonight, how long would your home last?
Take the free two-minute check. You'll see how many days your household could manage without power, and what would stop working first.
- 18 questions
- About 2 minutes
- No sign-up
Where do you live?
Our plans cover the UK, the US, Canada and Australia. Tell us your country on the next screen and we'll let you know when it's ready.
Start my checkFree. Your result appears as soon as you finish.
Honestly didn’t realise how unprepared we were until doing this. It’s made me think about things I’d never even considered before. Feel a lot better having a plan in place now!
Really impressed with the report. Didn’t expect it to go into so much detail. The bit about the first 72 hours was especially useful. Definitely worth doing.
Such a good idea. Took hardly any time to fill out and the plan was really helpful. I’ve already started sorting a few things out around the house.
Never really thought about what we’d do if the power went out for more than a few hours. Bit of an eye opener if I’m honest. Glad we’ve got something to refer back to now.
The personalised side of it is what I liked most. It’s not just a generic list of emergency supplies, it actually takes your household into account. Really useful!
Did this with the wife over the weekend and we both thought it was brilliant. Made us realise there were quite a few things we hadn’t thought about. Something every family should probably have.
Really easy to use and the report is so detailed. I particularly liked the communication advice. You don’t really think about how difficult it could be to contact people if networks went down.
As a mum, anything that helps me feel a bit more prepared for my children is worth looking into. We’ve now got a much better idea of what we’d do in an emergency. Thank you!
Didn’t know what to expect but actually really useful. The assessment highlighted a few gaps in what we had at home. Already making a list of things to get sorted.
I think people underestimate how much we rely on electricity for absolutely everything. This has definitely changed how I look at it. The 30-day guidance is a nice touch too.
Just wanted to say thanks, genuinely. Having everything written down and knowing what we’d need to do takes a lot of the uncertainty away. Hopefully we’ll never need it!
Really good service. I liked that it wasn’t all doom and gloom either, just practical advice and things you can actually do. Definitely recommend giving it a go.
The thing that stood out to me was how much thought had gone into the different situations. Especially useful having advice tailored to your own home rather than reading generic stuff online.
My partner and I went through the report together and it was actually quite interesting seeing what we’d both thought about beforehand. We’ve got a few things to organise now but at least we’ve got a starting point!
Quick to complete, really detailed report and genuinely useful information. Never thought I’d be looking into blackout preparation but here we are. Better to be prepared than caught out!
From our first readers, who received a free early plan.
The check walks you through a blackout, hour by hour
You answer questions about your heating, water, food, cash and the people you'd need to reach. As you go, the clock moves on and you see what your home loses, and when.
At the end you get a readiness score out of 100 and the point where your household would start to struggle.
Example result, two adults in a flat
31%ready for 30 days
- Hour 1The gas boiler stops. It needs electricity to run.
- Hour 4Fridge food starts to become unsafe.
- Day 2No cash at home, and card machines are down.
- Day 3Bottled water runs out.
An illustration of what a result looks like. Yours is worked out from your own answers.
Most households score lower than they expect
Scores from the first 10 households to take the check, November 2026. A small sample, not a survey.
- 6 in 10scored under 50%
- 9 in 10have heating that stops when the power does
- 8 in 10keep £100 or less in cash at home
- 2 in 10have agreed where to meet family if phones stop working
Governments already ask households to prepare
None of these is a prediction. They are the standards officials have set for themselves and for the public.
The European Commission asked every EU citizen to keep enough food, water and essentials to manage for at least 72 hours.
The Federal Office of Civil Protection recommends every home keeps an emergency supply that lasts at least ten days.
Sweden posted its "In case of crisis or war" booklet to every household, covering water, cash and staying informed if phones fail.
The official target for restoring all of Britain's power after a total shutdown. The National Risk Register rates a national outage as catastrophic.
Pentagon documents reported in October 2026 set a standard for major US bases to run for at least 90 days without outside power, water, fuel or communications.
Long power cuts have happened, and recently
- April 2025, Spain and PortugalTwo countries lost power in seconds
Around 35,000 passengers were rescued from stranded trains and underground systems. At least 8 people died, and power was back within a day.
- November 2021, United KingdomStorm Arwen
About 40,000 British homes were without power for more than three days. Nearly 4,000 for more than a week.
- February 2021, TexasA winter blackout
Millions were without power for days. 246 people died, most of them from the cold.
- August 2019, United KingdomA million cut off in a minute
One chain of faults cut power to more than a million people in Britain.
- August 2003, Canada and the US50 million in the dark
A failure that started in Ohio cut power to 40 million Americans in eight states and 10 million people in Ontario, in minutes.
Who is behind this
"My family are spread across the country, from Leeds to Devon. I realised we had no plan at all if the phones went down."
Charles Birch, founder
"Most people think they'd cope, right up until they answer the questions. The quiz shows you the gaps while there's still time to fix them."
Justin Birch, Chief Revenue Officer
Build Blackout Solutions is an independent business based in Leeds, England.
- Every fact is sourcedWe use official guidance and name the source next to each fact. The full list is at the bottom of this page.
- The check is free, with no sign-upYou see your result without giving an email address.
- Secure checkoutPayments are handled by Shopify. We never see your card details.
Readiness check
Your score, and where your household would struggle first.
30-Day Blackout Template
30 printable pages to fill in yourself. Instant download, with UK, US, Canada and Australia editions.
Your 30-Day Blackout Plan
Written for your home, your town and the people you'd need to reach. Sent within 24 hours.
Find out before you need to know
Two minutes now tells you what to sort out this week, while the shops are open and the lights are on.
Start my check