Black Friday 2026: the kit that keeps a home running in winter
This page gathers the household kit most worth considering in the Black Friday sales, grouped by what it does for a home in winter: keeping the lights and phones on in a power cut, keeping people warm, keeping the house and the car secure, and keeping in touch when the broadband drops. Each pick is one we already track on PreparedBritain, chosen on its specification and owner feedback rather than on today's price.
Prices on this page are read from the retailers several times a day and shown inside each card with the time we last checked. We do not write prices into the text, because they move faster than words do. For power stations, our deal check compares each brand store's current price with what that same store has charged over recent weeks, on a separate page linked below.
- Black FridayFriday 27 November · Many retailers run offers over a longer period around it. When we checked on 13 October 2026, none of the retailers we looked at (EcoFlow, BLUETTI, Jackery, Ring, Yale, Meaco and Amazon UK) had published its 2026 sale dates. We only list dates a retailer has announced itself.
- Cyber MondayMonday 30 November · The Monday after Black Friday. As with Black Friday, the start and end of any sale are for each retailer to announce, and we list them here only once they have.
Power stations: the one category with a deal check
A portable power station is a battery you charge in advance that can run a fridge, a router, phone chargers and a lamp through a power cut, with no fumes and no fuel to store. It is also a large purchase, so it is where it pays most to settle on need and size first, and to check whether a sale price is genuinely lower than the store usually charges.
Decide the size before the sale, not during it. Work out which appliances you would actually run and for how long, check the station has a UK three-pin socket and enough continuous watts for the biggest one, and note the recharge time from the mains. Our runtime sizer on the power stations page does this sum for you. Then use the deal check below, which compares each brand store's sale price against what that store has been charging.
For power stations we run a deal check on the brand stores we track, currently EcoFlow and BLUETTI. It records what each store charges for each model over time, and when a sale price appears it says whether that price is genuinely lower than the store's recent usual price or just a usual price under a sale banner. It covers brand stores only, never marketplace listings, and it updates several times a day.
Open the Black Friday power station deal check → →Power banks and power-cut lighting
If a power station is more than you need, a large power bank and a rechargeable lantern cover two basics in a cut: a phone that stays charged for your network operator's updates and the 105 power cut line, and light that is not a candle. Look for a bank of 20,000mAh or more with a USB-C port, and if you want to charge a laptop, check its USB-C output is rated high enough.
The thing to check is not the discount but the specification. Of the two banks here, one is for phones and tablets, and the other has USB-C outputs strong enough for most USB-C laptops. For a lantern, look at how it is charged: the one we list has no hand crank or solar panel, so it needs charging before a storm is forecast, which is the habit worth building anyway.
Home security: locks, alarms and cameras
Darker evenings are when many households look again at home security. The useful order is the unglamorous one: a sound front door lock first, then an alarm that makes a noise, then a camera that lets you see what set it off. A smart lock adds convenience and lets you give a neighbour access while you are away; the one we list adds smart control to your existing lock and is not itself BS3621-rated, the standard many insurers ask for.
Before buying, check what each product needs to keep working: a subscription for cloud recording, a hub, a hard-wired cable run, or a battery that wants a solar panel in a shaded British garden. Confirm the exact model number in the listing matches the one in the review you read, because older generations sell alongside new ones at this time of year.
Winter warmth: blankets, heaters and dehumidifiers
An electric blanket warms the bed rather than the whole room, which is why many households start there. A portable heater is for the one room you sit in when the boiler is off or the heating is too dear to run through the house. A dehumidifier is the quiet third: it deals with the condensation that builds up in winter, especially when washing is dried indoors, before it turns into mould.
For blankets, look for overheat protection, a timer and a machine-washable cover. For heaters, a thermostat and timer matter more than the headline wattage, because running cost depends on how long the heater is on and at what setting. For dehumidifiers, compare extraction at a cool test condition, not only the warm, humid headline figure, and check for a laundry mode if that is the job.
Car: jump starters, dash cams and battery chargers
Cold weather is hard on car batteries, and a jump starter in the boot is the fix that does not depend on a second car or a kind stranger. A smart battery charger does the preventive job for a car that sits on the drive all week. A dash cam is the piece of kit you buy once and hope never to need, but its footage can help with an insurance claim.
Check the jump starter's engine-size rating, which makers give separately for petrol and diesel, rather than the peak amps figure, and whether it also charges a phone. For a charger, confirm it suits your battery type, including stop-start and AGM batteries. For a dash cam, look at the resolution, the field of view and whether it needs a memory card you buy separately, which is an easy cost to miss.
Radios and torches: staying informed when the broadband goes
When the power goes, so do the router and the smart speaker, and in a long cut some mobile masts too. A battery or wind-up radio is how you hear local updates without draining your phone, and a head torch leaves both hands free for the fuse box, cooking or a child. None of this is exciting, which is why it tends to be bought on impulse in a sale and then left in a drawer with flat batteries.
Check how the radio is powered: the one we list runs from its own battery, AAA cells, a hand crank or a solar panel, on FM and AM, but it does not pick up DAB stations, so note which local station still broadcasts on FM. For torches, favour standard AA or AAA batteries, or USB-C charging, over a proprietary cell you cannot replace at a corner shop.
How to tell a real deal from a headline
- Check the exact model number. Older generations, smaller capacities and bundle variants sell alongside the current model in sale week, often under near-identical names, and a review of one does not describe the other.
- Check the store's own recent price, not the "was" figure. Which? tracked 175 home, tech and health products through the 2024 sales and found that eight in ten were the same price or cheaper at least once outside the four-week sale period.
- Add delivery and returns before you compare. Since April 2025 the headline price must include any unavoidable charges, as the CMA's price transparency guidance explains, but optional delivery upgrades and return postage can still turn a saving into nothing.
- Ignore countdown clocks and "only three left" banners. The CMA treats fake countdowns and false stock claims as unlawful pressure tactics, and in November 2025 it opened investigations into whether some time-limited sales ended when advertised.
- Paying by credit card for a single item over a hundred pounds brings extra protection. Under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act the card provider is jointly liable with the seller for faults or non-delivery on an item costing more than a hundred pounds and up to thirty thousand, even if the card paid only part. For debit cards, ask your bank about chargeback.
- Know your cancellation right. For most goods bought online you have 14 days from delivery to change your mind without a reason under the Consumer Contracts Regulations, and the seller then has 14 days to refund once the item is back.
- Check the warranty and returns terms before you buy. The Consumer Rights Act lets you reject a faulty item for a refund within 30 days and then ask for a repair or replacement, but a manufacturer's warranty or a battery-care condition may be what you rely on later.
- Do not buy something because it is reduced. If it was not on your list in October, a lower price in November has not made it useful; the saving on a thing you did not need is the full price.
If you do not need it yet, you lose nothing by waiting. Which? tracked 175 home, tech and health products through the 2024 sales and found most were the same price or cheaper at least once outside the sale period, and none was cheaper on Black Friday itself than at any other point in the year around it. Buy in the sale if you had already decided to buy, you know the size you need and the price is one you would have paid in a quiet week.
Common questions
When is Black Friday 2026 in the UK?
Black Friday falls on Friday 27 November 2026 and Cyber Monday on Monday 30 November 2026. Many retailers run offers over a longer period around them, but the start and end dates are theirs to announce. We only publish a retailer's dates once that retailer has published them.
Have EcoFlow, BLUETTI, Jackery or Amazon announced their 2026 sale dates?
Not when we checked on 13 October 2026. Some brand pages still carried last year's sale, which does not count as a 2026 announcement. We will re-check in the run-up and update this page with the date of each check, so any dates shown are ones the retailer has announced itself.
Why are there no prices in the text of this page?
Because they change through the day, and a price written into a paragraph can be out of date within hours. Every price on this page sits inside a product card with the time we last read it from the retailer. The text tells you what to look for; the cards show what it costs at the last check.
How do I know a Black Friday discount is genuine?
Compare the sale price with what the same store charged in the weeks before, not with the "was" figure beside it. The CMA's pricing principles say a higher reference price should have been charged for a meaningful period, in meaningful volume, immediately before the sale. For power stations our brand-store deal check makes this comparison for you; for other kit, the CMA suggests a price tracker or your own notes.
Can I return something I bought in the sale if I change my mind?
For most goods bought online, yes: the Consumer Contracts Regulations give you 14 days from delivery to cancel without giving a reason, then 14 days to send the item back, and the seller must refund within 14 days of getting it back or proof you sent it. Check who pays return postage. Personalised goods, perishables and sealed hygiene items opened after delivery are among the exceptions.
Should I wait for Black Friday to buy a power station?
Only if you do not need it before then. A power station bought now is ready for any autumn and early-winter storms. If a brand store cuts its price, our deal check shows whether the sale price is below what that store usually charges. Which?'s research on home and tech products found most sale prices were matched at other times of year, so decide on need and size first and let the price decide the timing.
Free alerts for your home
Home Alerts emails you when a power cut, a Met Office warning or a flood warning covers your postcode. Free for your own home. Opening in October; the first 100 on the list get in first.
Join the list →Sources (15)
- Which?: most Black Friday deals the same price or cheaper at other times of the year (25 Nov 2025)
- CMA: Price transparency guidance CMA209 (18 Nov 2025)
- CMA: Unfair commercial practices guidance CMA207 (18 Nov 2025)
- CMA: consumer protection drive focused on online pricing practices (18 Nov 2025)
- CMA: new consumer protection regime comes into force (7 Apr 2025)
- CMA blog: Shop smart, bag a bargain (13 Nov 2025)
- CMA blog: Our top 5 tips for savvy online shopping this Black Friday (18 Nov 2022)
- CMA: discount and reference pricing principles
- GOV.UK: Accepting returns and giving refunds
- Citizens Advice: Changing your mind about something you've bought
- Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, Part 3
- Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 22 (short-term right to reject)
- Citizens Advice: Getting your money back if you paid by card or PayPal
- MoneyHelper: How you're protected when you pay by card
- Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, Part 4 Chapter 1
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