What Happens to a Smart Home When There's a Power Cut
An in-depth look at what happens when your smart home loses power, along with practical advice on how to keep things running
The Impact of a Power Cut on Your Smart Home System
When the mains power supply fails, the behaviour of your smart home devices can vary significantly, depending on whether they rely solely on mains power or are powered by batteries or have battery backup built-in.
What Keeps Running
- Battery Powered Devices: Devices such as smart locks, motion sensors, contact sensors come with internal batteries. These types of devices will not directly be impacted by a mains power failure. However they may be impacted indirectly because the hub \ gateway they use for connectivity is main powered and has stopped working.
- UPS (battery) Protected Devices: Items like your smart hub and broadband internet router can be kept running on a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply). When properly backed up, these devices maintain network connectivity and can keep smart devices running. Fortunately, most smart home products that are mains powered have low energy requirements. Which means fairly small (and low cost) UPSs can be used.
- Cloud Functions: Many smart home devices require cloud servers for data processing, remote control and automations to run. These services typically remain available because they are hosted in data centres with their own redundant power systems. However, if your smart home gateway or broadband router isn’t on backup battery power, the link between your home and the cloud will drop.
What Won’t Keep Running
- Mains Powered Appliances: Any device that depends directly on mains power (e.g. smart lights, smart plugs etc) will immediately go offline.
- Local Automations: If your smart hub loses power, local automations that rely on the hub’s processing will halt, regardless of whether the smart devices themselves have batteries.
- Notifications and Alerts: Without power, notifications will not be sent
Power Loss Mitigation Table
| Component | Behaviour During a Power Cut | Mitigation Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| Smart Hub \ Gateway | Goes offline | Connect to a UPS (external battery) or invest in a hub with an internal battery |
| WiFi \ internet Router | Goes offline | Connect the router to a UPS or a mobile hotspot (has built-in battery) |
| Battery Smart Devices | Battery powered devices continue to function. However, if the smart hub is offline they won’t be much use | N\A |
| Mains Smart Devices | Will go offline | Very difficult to mitigate, unless you invest in a home battery e.g. Tesla Powerwall (expensive) |
| Security Cameras | Some have solar, battery backup; otherwise, they go offline | Ensure cameras have built-in battery or connect to a UPS |
| Smart Locks | Usually operate on battery, so remain online and functional. Don’t need smart hub to be online | Smart locks usually have manual overrides e.g. physical key |
| Cloud Services | Remain online (datacentres use large UPSs and local generators). However they will be of no use if your local smart hub or router is offline | Datacentres manage backup power supplies |
Remote Access and Notifications During a Power Cut
The loss of power to your smart home network components means that:
- Remote Access: Unless your router or modem are on a backup power system (like a UPS or a mobile hotspot), you won’t be able to communicate with your smart devices remotely.
- Delayed or Missing Notifications: Alerts triggered by automations or security systems will not be sent or delayed if the devices invoking them are offline.
Redundancy is key in a power loss situation. Consider setting up a secondary internet connection (e.g. a mobile broadband router or smart device with independent connectivity) so that you can receive crucial updates even when your primary system is down.
Mitigating Power Outages: UPS, Battery Backups and More
- Invest in a UPS (basically a battery): A quality UPS can keep your smart hub and WiFi \ internet router operational for many hours or even days if large enough. When these components remain powered, your home will remain smart, able to connect to vital cloud based services and remote access.
- Battery Backup for Critical Devices: Devices such as smart locks, security cameras and select smart sensors sometimes have built-in batteries.
- Smart Power Strips and Surge Protectors: Can help protect your gear from power surges when the power returns.
- Redundant Internet: Use a mobile data hotspot as a backup solution for your home network.
- Automated Alerts from UPS Systems: Many modern UPS devices come with software that can notify you of a power outage, even if you’re not home. Invest in one that can send real-time alerts to your phone or email. Note: Be sure that your internet router is on the UPS otherwise the UPS won’t have internet access to send the alert
Rebooting: What Happens When the Power Comes Back On
- Device Reinitialisation: Many smart devices undergo a brief reboot period when power returns. This means your smart hub, routers and connected smart devices may take several minutes to come back online as they reconnect to your network and (if required) the cloud. This is an automatic process, usually requiring no manual intervention.
- State: Automations and settings may be temporarily out of sync. Some devices might revert to default states or require manual intervention to reset automations.
- False Alarms: Occasionally, devices (like security sensors) may generate false alerts as they detect the power coming back on.
Detecting Power Cuts Remotely
Here are some ways that you can be notified of a power cut at your home, when you’re not there:
- UPS Notification Systems: Many UPS units are network enabled and can alert you via email or SMS when a power outage is detected.
- Smart Meters and Utility Notifications: Some modern utilities provide outage notifications through dedicated apps or emails. If available in your area, subscribe to these services to keep updated on local power conditions.
- Remote Monitoring Apps: If your smart system supports it, maintain an app on your mobile device that can show the last known state of your home. This can give you an indication of whether your devices are still online or if they’ve lost connectivity.
Conclusion
Understanding the impact of power cuts on a smart home is important for maintaining control, safety and comfort. By knowing which devices will keep running and investing in preventive measures like UPS systems, battery backups and redundant internet connectivity options, you can minimise disruption during a power outage.
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