Living room lit by LED lanterns during a power outage

Shop Lighting

Emergency Lanterns and Lighting

Battery and rechargeable lanterns, flashlights and spotlights to light your home safely during a power outage.

6 picks

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Lepro 1000LM LED camping lantern

Battery powered, 4 light modes, dimmable

Why it's here: One of the most reviewed lanterns on Amazon, with tens of thousands of ratings. Bright enough to light a whole room, and it dims down to a soft night light.

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Lichamp collapsible LED lanterns, 4 pack

350 lumens each, runs on 3 AA batteries (not included)

Why it's here: Four lanterns means one for every room or every person. They collapse flat for storage, and AA batteries are easy to stock.

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LUXPRO retro LED lantern, 2 pack

Dims from 5 to 265 lumens, warm or white light

Why it's here: The warm light setting feels like a real lamp instead of a work light. Nice for kids who get nervous when the house goes dark.

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1500LM LED lantern with D batteries

4 light modes, 4 D batteries included

Why it's here: The brightest lantern here, and it arrives ready to use. D batteries last a long time, which matters in a multi-day outage.

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JARDLITE LED flashlights, 4 pack

Adjustable focus, 5 modes including SOS

Why it's here: Put one in every drawer and the car. Zoom out to light a room, zoom in to see across the yard.

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YIERBLUE rechargeable spotlight

USB rechargeable, long-range beam

Why it's here: For checking the yard, the roof or the street after a storm. Rechargeable, so you're not burning through batteries.

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Why lanterns beat candles

Candles cause thousands of home fires every year, and outages make it worse: dark rooms, blankets everywhere, kids moving around. LED lanterns stay cool, can’t tip over into a fire, and last for days on one set of batteries.

What kind of light do you need?

  • Lanterns light a whole room. Put one in the kitchen, the bathroom and wherever your family gathers.
  • Flashlights are for moving around and finding things. Aim for one per person.
  • Headlamps keep your hands free for cooking, fixing things or caring for kids.
  • Spotlights reach far, for checking outside after a storm.

Lumens, simply explained

  • 100 to 300 lumens: enough for a bathroom or reading
  • 300 to 600 lumens: lights a bedroom or small living room
  • 1,000+ lumens: lights a large room or campsite

Battery tips

Pick lights that share one or two battery sizes, like AA and D, so one stockpile covers everything. Store spare batteries outside the devices to prevent leaks, and swap in fresh ones once a year.

Guides and checklists

Printable checklist on a refrigerator door

Get the free winter storm checklist

A one-page printable that covers your home, car and supplies. Stick it on the fridge and check things off.

Open the printable