Storm Arwen and the reliance on electricity...

[Koldov]

Most of us have seen on the news about the devastating consequences of storm Arwen (including the very sad loss of life) and the fact that it has left thousands of people without electricity.

 

Although in terms of big storms it wasn't really (although gusts of nearly 100mph puts it up there - duration and lack of torrential rain peg it down a little I guess) it was enough to leave vast areas without power and as much of that appears to be reasonably rural, makes it difficult to repair.

 

It did make me think though about the shift from fossil fuels (including those that produce electricity of course) and appliances that work without electricity to those that rely on it and rely on it to work.

 

We had a very, very old gas boiler when we originally moved in to our house and somehow that could work without electricity (it had a timer but if you turned a knob and pushed a button it would heat some water) as do some oil fired heating solutions, we also had a gas hob that you lit with a match.... Oh and my car still runs on petrol...

 

Now we have moved onto to a newer boiler (before ASH and GSH before you ask) and a nice induction hob (no electric car or solar panels yet though).

 

So my thought today on the way to work, that in terms of even though I'm not stuck out in the Highlands of Scotland but being in a cosy suburb, I wouldn't be much better off without electricity...

[hardtailstar]

Where I live, we never get affected by the huge storms etc. But we have a box that is for camping but use in emergencys too. It has a portable gas stove with enough cannisters to last a couple of days, battery lamps/torches and lots of instant heat packs.

 

We also have enough portable batteries in our house to last a couple of weeks to keep phones charged up etc.

 

Its always worth having an emergency stash of stuff for these just in case moments.

[smurfomatic]

When I were a lad (not THAT long ago) our village was regularly subject to power cuts, probably once a month at its worst. The cupboard under the kitchen sink had the candles & matches in it. There was a camping gas stove and kettle to hand for making a brew.

 

Now, as an adult who lives alone, I have nothing like this. I've got an LED torch for light, but no way to cook or boil water without electricity (unless you count a blowtorch!)

[jmak]

I've been looking at home storage batteries, partly with the idea of buying electricity at low rates and using it at peak time, but also to give me an option in the event of a power cut. I'm no worse off since getting rid of the oil fired boiler as the boiler wouldn't fire without an electric supply and the water wouldn't circulate through the radiators without the electric pump being supplied. However, on a cold day I seen to be able to get through 70kWh of electricity to run the heating system for 24 hours, so a home storage battery probably wouldn't do much either for my bills or emergency supply. Maybe I should buy a couple of old Nissan Leafs or a crashed Tesla...

[elsiegee40]

Where I live, we never get affected by the huge storms etc. But we have a box that is for camping but use in emergencys too. It has a portable gas stove with enough cannisters to last a couple of days, battery lamps/torches and lots of instant heat packs.

 

We also have enough portable batteries in our house to last a couple of weeks to keep phones charged up etc.

 

Its always worth having an emergency stash of stuff for these just in case moments.

 

You don’t remember 1987 in Kent do you [emoji23] I do!

[LeMarchand]

Starts researching solar phone chargers...

[Norphy]

Starts researching solar phone chargers...

 

Not much use when there's no light outside because of a major storm!

[psydii]

Old enough to remember the storm of 87, we were without power for a similar period. Gas central heating and cooker hobs, but we were due a delivery (no mains gas), and they couldn't get through for several days.

 

Log fire and everyone camping in the lounge. Luckily civilisation (and friends with power) was only a few miles walk, though trees lying sideways across all the paths and roads were surprisingly challenging to clamber over/around.

 

TBH he problems would be the same today as they were then.

 

However in my current abode, (mostly electrical appliances, and a modern boiler) we'd be stuffed. We've got solar that could provide enough oomph to power the boiler and charge the batteries of portable devices... but after a big storm I'd doubt the panels would still be on the roof.

[elsiegee40]

Old enough to remember the storm of 87, we were without power for a similar period. Gas central heating and cooker hobs, but we were due a delivery (no mains gas), and they couldn't get through for several days.

 

Log fire and everyone camping in the lounge. Luckily civilisation (and friends with power) was only a few miles walk, though trees lying sideways across all the paths and roads were surprisingly challenging to clamber over/around.

 

TBH he problems would be the same today as they were then.

 

However in my current abode, (mostly electrical appliances, and a modern boiler) we'd be stuffed. We've got solar that could provide enough oomph to power the boiler and charge the batteries of portable devices... but after a big storm I'd doubt the panels would still be on the roof.

 

My comment was directed at hardtailstar who said we don’t get big storms

 

Like you I remember the lack of power. Luckily we did have a gas hob and a box of matches.

 

I think you’re right about the solar panels!

[MatthewL]

One reason I have a dual fuel cooker least I can warm stuff up on the gas hob if the electric is out.

 

I'm considering solar and battery storage not that I can afford to yet but if I can come off grid by just a bit its some help towards reducing my foot print, yes in the dead of winter might not be able to heat the heating but might still be able to function to some degree.

[hardtailstar]

You don’t remember 1987 in Kent do you [emoji23] I do!

Wasn't born yet.......

[jmak]

When I were a lad (not THAT long ago) our village was regularly subject to power cuts, probably once a month at its worst. The cupboard under the kitchen sink had the candles & matches in it. There was a camping gas stove and kettle to hand for making a brew.

 

Now, as an adult who lives alone, I have nothing like this. I've got an LED torch for light, but no way to cook or boil water without electricity (unless you count a blowtorch!)

Before our current house I lived in a flat in central London. Having grown up in a small village in a similar area, I bought a camping stove and a box of candles in a camping shop on the day we moved in. We did actually use them a few times when we first moved in, but they upgraded the sub-station and replaced all the overhead power lines, so I haven't used them for over 10 years. Last time was when a builder put an angle grinder through our power supply [emoji2357] When it became clear it was going to be an overnight thing, we went and stayed with friends; that'd be my plan if we had an outage lasting over a day.

[robyholmes]

Solar inverters and battery systems still require mains power to work, mainly as a safety. If they carried on working during a power cut, you'd be back feeding the grid keeping your neighbours lights on.

 

It is possible to go off grid but needs extra gear. However as we have more micro generation and storage, either at home or in the community. It should make keeping the lights on easier. We just need to make the grid smarter to cope with the loss of connections.

[mavhc]

Solar inverters come in different types: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_inverter#Classification

 

If you want off grid operations, have to specify that.

 

But given solar power is DC, and almost everything works fine on DC, and batteries are DC, we should move to DC inside the house.

[Andrew_C]

Good luck with running your microwave/mixer/tools/etc on DC. Even better luck persuading people to change all of their kit and rewiring.

[mavhc]

Magnetrons use DC.

[woodham]

dc will kill you way faster thats why we dont use it in the home. , i have solar to some batteries wit ha small invertor but if we had a propper outage we have a log burner for heat and a well used honda genny in the garage along with a few cans of petrol that would see is through the worst of it , for lights charging stuff , freezer, or if needed the electric cooker (not all at once but easy enough to swap between them

[Koldov]

When it became clear it was going to be an overnight thing, we went and stayed with friends; that'd be my plan if we had an outage lasting over a day.

 

As long as you didn't have an electric car...

[mavhc]

Always precharge your car in the face of a coming storm.

 

Petrol pumps don't work when there's no power either though.

 

"A.C. is said to be four to five times more dangerous than D.C. For one thing, A.C. causes more severe muscular contractions. For another, it stimulates sweating, which lowers the skin resistance. Along those lines, it is important to note that resistance goes down rapidly with continued contact. The sweating and the burning away of the skin oils and even the skin itself account for this. That is why it's extremely important to free the victim from contact with the current as quickly as possible (but without endangering yourself) before the climbing current reaches the fibrillation-inducing level.

 

The frequency of the AC has a lot to do with the effect on the human body."