Electricity needs when the grids down.

[Mortblanc]

Paul's rules:
#1. Even if you have the technology you are not allowed to use it. You must remain dark, cold and miserable.

#2. You are not allowed to use any device that might be useful for SHTF unless SHTF has happened, then you still can't use it.

The reason they called it the "Dark Ages" was because when the Romans left they took all the batteries!

Why should one insist on living in dark, depraved and dangerous conditions when simple technologies are available that can keep our homes lit and safe?

LED lighting, rechargeable power tools, solar panels and storage banks. I am using them now and I will continue to use them in daily life and in emergencies great and small.

The fact that simple technology might break years down the road is no reason to ignore its existence and trade your electric torch for one made of bark and pine sap. The 2000 recharge cycles Pete is speaking of is a recharge daily for 5 years.

[bigpaul]

(4 February 2022, 15:07)Mortblanc Wrote: Paul's rules:
#1. Even if you have the technology you are not allowed to use it. You must remain dark, cold and miserable.

#2. You are not allowed to use any device that might be useful for SHTF unless SHTF has happened, then you still can't use it.

The reason they called it the "Dark Ages" was because when the Romans left they took all the batteries!

Why should one insist on living in dark, depraved and dangerous conditions when simple technologies are available that can keep our homes lit and safe?

LED lighting, rechargeable power tools, solar panels and storage banks. I am using them now and I will continue to use them in daily life and in emergencies great and small.

The fact that simple technology might break years down the road is no reason to ignore its existence and trade your electric torch for one made of bark and pine sap. The 2000 recharge cycles Pete is speaking of is a recharge daily for 5 years.

Electricity in UK homes is still a relatively new thing, less than a century old.
technology post SHTF is okay as long as it works, the trouble is most technology types think it is infallible, anything that needs spare parts is just waiting to fail.
the other problem is people who fail to give up their modern lifestyle post SHTF and think they can have everything post collapse that they have now.
survival in past civilizations have been possible because people could access their basic needs by their own physical labour, most would not be able now because they dont know how and never will. most spare parts for anything these days is made abroad, mostly China, India and places like Bangladesh etc,, if we cant make it ourselves post collapse we wont have it, surely it is better to learn to live without instead of hankering for something we cant have?

[Pete Grey]

(4 February 2022, 15:32)bigpaul Wrote: ........... surely it is better to learn to live without instead of hankering for something we cant have?

Why not sweeten the nut if we can ?.

[bigpaul]

I'm just saying that my personal plans post SHTF do not include the use of electricity once the grid is down.
I have lived with out power before for many years, so has my wife, and we will just revert to a previous horticultural lifestyle.
technology is okay, for some, if it works but anything that can break down will break down and at the worst possible time.
it is unlikely technology will survive for long post SHTF without the infrastructure to support it.

[Pete Grey]

Our preps for no mains electricity are as my first post on this thread.

However this is just a small part of our preps, but while we can we will use whatever power we generate to make life a little easier.

Otherwise for the basics it will be —

Cooking.....propane, coal and wood (when the propane runs out).
Heating.....coal and wood.
Lighting.....wind-up lanterns, oil lamps and candles.
Laundry.....wash tub and dolly.
Maintenance.....hand tools for every job I can think of.

[Joe]

For serious long term outages power usage can be split into two halves, one is heating/ hot water etc, the other is powering lighting and electronic appliances. I would give up trying to heat a house on solar or wind, it’s just not viable and it’s easier with gas/ wood/coal etc.
For number two you can easily get by with solar/ wind etc. Led lighting is cheap and advanced so there’s no need to be in the dark. For tv and computer use you can purchase a basic inverter and run it from a 12v/24v system.
The tricky one tends to be freezers, if you have plenty of solar/wind available you can just about run it from an inverter but ideally this might be better on a generator.

Some interesting comments regarding smart meters, I have avoided these because of two issues.
1. Privacy ( someone can tell a lot about you from your power usage)
2. Incoming mains contactor ( you can be disconnected in seconds while others take priority)

[bigpaul]

heating/cooking when the mains are down are best with wood or coal if you have access to that, gas mains are likely to be down too, even if someone has gas central heating the controls are normally electrical so with the grid down will not work.
I was told that most solar systems in the UK dont store excess power, modern homes dont have room for storage and any excess is sold to the national grid which isnt much good when the grid is down.
generators? only as good as long as fuel stocks last which post SHTF wont be long, after that there only use is as a garden ornament.

[LAC]

A good modern chest freezer can be kept going using deep cycle battery/batteries and an inverter, and be charged with solar at the same time as being used. If one keeps down the time the freezer is opened when removing contents, this will reduce the time the freezer needs to be powered on. I've tested by cycling for 2 hours on and 4 hours off over a number of days and the contents were still frozen solid at the end. What is important is to invest as much as one can afford in quality battery/batteries, charge controller, and inverter, as the efficiency of quality components makes a huge difference to the overall power generation, power storage, and power output.

[Pete Grey]

In another thread Mortblanc pointed out modern fridge technology has moved on, you can get compressor fridge/freezers that run on 0.5 amps at 12 volts, useful for camping or for backup during a power outage. Dometic and Vevor list some interesting models.

[bigpaul]

power outage is a minor inconvenience I was brought up on power cuts and I was an adult when we had the rationed power cuts in the 70s.
when the power grid goes down permanently post SHTF is a completely different "kettle of fish" and I dont think that we will have large freezers full of meat or anything else for that matter, small game is more likely to be on the menu and will be consumed over a shorter time period, some people will be breeding small meat animals and they will be running about until such time as the meat is required.