CPAP and oxygen on battery power: read this first

What the FDA advises for power outages

The FDA's tips on medical devices and natural disasters say, in short (FDA):

• Tell your electric company and fire department that you have a medical device that needs power.
• Read your user instructions, or call your distributor or the device maker, to find out whether your device can run on battery power and how.
• If you depend on your device to stay alive, seek emergency services right away.
• Use battery flashlights or lanterns, not gas lights or candles, when oxygen is in use.

The figures we use, and their limits

• CPAP, ResMed AirSense 10: ResMed's battery guide lists the draw at 12 V DC by pressure and humidifier setting, from about 8 W dry at 6 cmH2O to about 67 W with the heated tube and humidifier at 8 and 20 cmH2O. The CPAP calculator uses that table.
• CPAP, ResMed AirSense 11: 56.1 W typical and 73.2 W peak power consumption, from ResMed's user guide. Heated humidifier and heated tubing settings change the draw a lot. ResMed sells its own power accessories; ask ResMed or your supplier what it supports.
• Oxygen concentrator, Philips EverFlo: 350 W average power consumption at 120 V, from the Philips brochure. Other concentrators differ: in maker specs we read, from 100 W (Inogen At Home on setting 2) to 400 W average (Invacare Platinum 5); see oxygen concentrator power. Keep backup oxygen cylinders as your supplier advises; a battery does not replace them.

A station's runtime falls as it ages and in the cold, and the runtime tool assumes it starts full. Plan for more than our number, and test your own setup before you need it.

Also worth doing

Ask your utility whether it has a program or list for customers who rely on powered medical equipment, and what it does and doesn't promise during an outage.