I have long been prepared with alternative power sources (four to be exact) and recommend that everyone place at least a small inverter in the emergency supplies. A 400 to 500 watt inverter can be the difference between insanity and a semblance of normalcy in a crisis. Keeping a laptop, a cell phone, or an e reader charged and possibly a modem running is critical.
One word of advice: you get what you pay for with inverters. Don’t expect a Dollar Store device to be reliable when your life may depend on it. Spend $50 and get a decent small inverter.
You’re right Robert —Get a good one— it will pay to have a way to recharge a phone or batteries. I’ve been thinking of installing an extra battery in my truck. There’s a module that lets the vehicle charge both batteries but isolates the second battery so you can use the inverter on it but it keeps the main battery seperate so you can always start the car...
I have one under my car seat with two 12v outlets.
Runs computers, vacuums, cell phones, battery chargers, etc.
Love it. Saves me a lot if hassle. When a device gets low on power and I’m on the road I just plug it into the outlet and keep on going while it’s charging.
I have two more for the other cars but I almost never drive them so I haven’t felt the need to install. I’ll use the other cars as backup if need be.