We heard loads and loads about how technology will collapse and everything will go to boot! The power grid shuts down, and the world goes into chaos.
There was even a short documentary style fiction video a year or so ago. I think it was called Blackout.
The simplest question is, in a scenario based on a total power grid shutdown, I'd like to get an idea of what kinds of things people really think will stop working within the first day, week, month, year, 5 years, and then 25 years.
Think of it as an exercise in "What will really shut down and stop working".
Here's a clue, my car will still drive, and will thus be able to charge my phone and charge batteries…and even my laptop. The genny will still work. Solar panels will still work. Batteries will still work. The solar battery-charger will still work. A simple waterwheel wired up to an alternator or 2 (alternators need a charge before they can start charging….thank goodness for batteries hu? Oh, and as I've already said, they'll still work). Electrical windmills will still work.
Granted things like fuel pumps will stop working, but it won't be long until someone fits up a hand crank pump or even a fuel powered pump to start kicking up fuel. Look at the resourcefulness of places like Thailand and Vietnam. Granted they're not 5* vehicles, but they manage to generate power out in the middle of nowhere, and maintain it.
So, if there was a total grid shutdown scenario, what things would still work fine, and what adjustments would people be able to make to ease the stresses of the situation?
To answer the thread correctly ....what is the basis of the total breakdown of the grid ?...is it a EMP ..or Nuclear attack or conventional war....or monetary collapse, the common factor for all these scenarios would be social collapse....and total mayhem ...even so to survive it we need to know ( if possible ) the reason for why we are in the situation you suggest S ....to plan ....if its short or long term.
A lot would depend on what shuts the grid down in the first place.
Everything you now have will still work, you just have to get power to it. As the power returns to service so will your goodies.
We lose grid service to areas as big as GB on occasion and bring it back up in a couple of days. There might be a riot and some looting but it is not the "end of the world" you are anticipating, even when it covers a vast area.
That "grid" did not exist at one time and was built from scratch. It can be built again.
Most UK solar installations are "grid tied", so if the grid goes down they go down too. The panels can be re-purposed, but most people won't know how to do it.
A solar battery charger for vehicle batteries is extremely useful, you'll be able to find quite a selection in your local boatyard, where they are used to maintain on-board batteries for long periods. You'll also find quality deep=-discharge batteries, water filters and purifiers etc.
It it's a non-EMP event, then the components will still work. Batteries, solar, etc.
Thankfully most streets have someone living on the street that's an electrician, or that has a friend that's an electrician, so could repurpose the cells. However, the solar cells would trickle feed the grid. Enough cells and it the grid went down, a sunny day could power the grid….but that'd be a hell of a lot of cells.
One of the most interesting parts of the grid, the wind farms are actually paid more money not to feed the grid, than they are for the power they put into the grid. On windy days, the power from the farms would overpower the grid and shut it down. The wind farm owners are compensated for loss of earnings...paid not to put that power through the power grid. I think it was something like £300million in 2013 they were given.
If we get off shore power set up, it'll potentially be similar to that.
The thing is, as humans, we're always looking at new ways to create power. Even in a grid down scenario we'll keep trying to generate small amounts of power here and there.
EMP aside, I really do see it as hugely difficult for a total loss of technology to be a plausible situation.
at some point your technology(even if it can still function without mains power) will need spare parts, if the power grid is down it is unlikely that any spares will be manufactured, you are then down to "jury rigging" something from any scrap bits you can find-which might work for a while, but unless there is a huge "die off" millions of other people are doing the same so how long do you think this "pool" of spares is likely to last? not long probably." solar panels might work for up to 3 decades but the invertor, batteries and electronics you plug into wont, anything that relies on batteries (even rechargeable ones)is going to be worthless once the battery chemicals wear out and there is no more to be had."
If it is just a grid down situation for an extended period, it's all the domestic appliances that are part of our every day life that will have a fairly immediate impact, such as fridges, freezers, water pumps, central heating systems, lighting and then there are the domestic services of water and gas supplies that would be disrupted unless there is some form off power back up, also for many the sewage/ run off and drainage system backing up would soon become a problem.
Personally I'm still quite reliant on storing a lot of my home grown produce and game that I catch by freezing, I have three domestic freezers on the go most of the year round, I do have a genny and a small cache of fuel and also working on a solar battery bank back up mainly just for these freezers but none of them a really a long term solution.
All previous civilisations had one thing in common, that their level of technology was simple enough for people to be in control of their daily needs if that civilisation collapsed, today we are in a situation that we are so specialised that it is virtually impossible to realise our level of technology without the infrastructure to support it, we are so interconnected that the whole world would be affected if the systems collapsed, we have built a monumental house of cards held together by worldwide connections that are very fragile to disruption, the earth only has resources for an advanced technological civilisation to be a one time event, mother nature rarely give you 2 bites of the cherry.
Out of curiosity, all the books, and the brains that show how to create tech…are they going to vanish?
No doubt ALL of us can make a 1.5V battery (remember being a kid and using lemons, pennies, and roofing nails?). Also, things like car batteries can be used for welding and soldering. So with a really basic level of brain power, the ability to start building or fixing things would be pretty simple. Making a wind turbine to power an alternator to then charge a battery would be easy. About a day's work.
Then take apart a washing machine and reverse it so that the spin produces electricity, then attach it up as a water wheel.
A bicycle can easily be converted to produce power.
Will parts run out? Sure. Will there be plenty of working parts available? Well, when the fuel stops flowing, suddenly there's a wealth of vehicles full of so many different components. Did someone mention wood gas? A few paint tins and piping, and you have fuel to run a car. What about when we run out of wood?!?! It doesn't just grow on trees you know. Oh wait…
If you can run a car, you can run a generator. Then you have the best part of a house with power from the genny.
The thing is, if you can lay low and outlast the 'die off' everyone seems to be expecting, then you'll suddenly become the proprietor of so many different scrap vehicles, and lightbulbs, and LEDs, and relays, and washing machines, and loads of other things.
Providing you have the books, and have tried a few things out so that you know what you're doing. There is very little reason why maintaining even a comfortable level of tech wouldn't be possible. Even if it's just a cooling system and evening lighting.
(13 June 2015, 10:03)Scythe13 Wrote: [ -> ]The thing is, if you can lay low and outlast the 'die off' everyone seems to be expecting, then you'll suddenly become the proprietor of so many different scrap vehicles, and lightbulbs, and LEDs, and relays, and washing machines, and loads of other things.
Providing you have the books, and have tried a few things out so that you know what you're doing. There is very little reason why maintaining even a comfortable level of tech wouldn't be possible. Even if it's just a cooling system and evening lighting.
Very true, however these components will rarely just fit together. If you can acquire a metal cutting lathe you will have a big advantage.