How to deal with rolling blackouts?
Given how the 2020s have gone so far, I'm feeling some meaningful concern about the news that we might be getting rolling blackouts if European fuel supplies get too low. I'm not at all sure whether they're overplaying the risk to prepare people, or dramatically underplaying it as they did with the first COVID lockdowns.
I'd be interested to know what, if anything, people recommend as preparation? I don't want to go overkill on something that may not even happen, but it also seems reasonable to consider the issue before everyone starts panic buying supplies.
I'm in the middle of a city, which has definite advantages in terms of walking access to shops and public buildings, but everything I own (including gas boiler and gas stove) needs electricity to run. It seems like a 500Wh LiFePO battery might be a good middle ground in terms of keeping creature comforts up and running, but they aren't exactly cheap so I'd be interested in any opinions and recommendations there?
More broadly it'd be great to hear what people think about the general risks, good preparations to make, and useful supplies that are easy to overlook?
Flashlights and rechargeable Lanterns!!! More than you could possibly ever think you would need. Plus they are fairly cheap so great bang for your buck. Showering in the dark is not fun, trust me.
This probably won't apply because it will be winter but if there is a blackout here it's usually summer and a battery powered fan is the only thing that makes it possible to sleep. So I guess the analogy would be to have a strategy in place so that no matter how cold it gets you will always be warm in bed.
As to your appliances, I would confirm whether at least your stove need power to function. My gas stove has an electric starter but I can start it with a lighter if the power is out. One of the only reasons I haven't switched to an induction range.
That's really helpful, thank you! LED lanterns are a much better idea than bumping around the place using the light on my phone, and having an old-school hot water bottle for the bed seems like a super cheap and easy way to stay comfortable.
Unfortunately there's a solenoid valve somewhere in the gas stove so it definitely won't work without power, it was one of the first things I checked. It does have a normal three pin plug, and the actual draw is low, so if I had any kind of battery with an inverter it'd be doable though.
On the lantern front, we have one of these and it's pretty great. On full power it'll light a medium sized room fairly well, and on low power it'll run for days. I've never actually run it flat, but we've used it as a nightlight for the kid with great success (~12 hours on each night over multiple nights without recharging).
They do an AA battery version which is considerably cheaper but personally I like stuff that charges from USB because it means I can charge everything from my power bank and not bother keeping batteries around.
A little camping stove or, if you have access to the outside - even just a balcony - perhaps a Kelly Kettle is probably worth having on hand. You can bulk buy the butane cans for little money and the Kelly will run off fallen leaves and newspaper if needed.
That gives you hot water, and hot water means hot water bottles and instant noodles and porridge and more importantly - tea/coffee. Some paper books, rechargeable lanterns and being fed and warm and you're sorted for quite a long power outage.
A big-ish power bank that's always plugged in might be a good middle ground between no power and a big LiFePo battery. Then you can charge your lights, phone (assuming there's still service) and other small devices. We have something very much like this one which is great for camping so I'd imagine will be equally useful in a power outage.
Maybe download some music/podcasts if you use streaming services so you can listen to stuff if the internet is out? A battery powered speaker needed, obviously.
We're getting a big LiFePo battery early next year as part of a solar install but if mains power drops out we can't run the house on the battery, only two sockets which will be sited near the inverter, which is mildly annoying. Still, better than nothing.
Camp stove is a great shout, actually - I was focusing in a bit on how to get the existing gas appliances enough power to start up, but yeah, it's probably a lot cheaper and easier to just keep a few cans of butane on hand.
Power bank + phone + headphones + pre-downloaded entertainment is also a really simple piece of prep that I'd quite possibly overlook otherwise! The kind of thing I'd absolutely prepare for a long haul flight but wouldn't normally do at home, basically.
And yeah, in terms of batteries it definitely wouldn't be any kind of giant whole-home setup, but something chunky with a couple of AC outlets opens up a lot of options for a couple of hundred quid. I almost definitely won't bother with that, to be honest, it's mostly the echoes of "COVID will be over in a month" in my head making me wonder if things are going to get quite a bit worse than expected.
The National Grid saying something I take rather differently to No.10 saying something. The grid people are - at least in my mind - rather more competent and when they say rolling blackouts is a worst case scenario then I am more inclined to believe they're saying that based on a good amount of evidence, planning and thought than.. well, literally anything Liz Truss says.
But you make a fair point. Better to prepare for the worst and have it not happen than hope for the best and end up cold, dark and hungry!
I have a nice collection of LED lanterns lying around for this purpose. One of them will light up an entire room and last for literally weeks of continual operation on a pair of C-size batteries. They are cheap too, a four-pack will run you around $30-$40.
If you have a gas oven that doesn't require power you can simply run the oven for heat and leave the door open. Simple kerosene heaters aren't bad for heat, but you do have to deal with the fumes and the smell.
The 'final solution' is to get your own generator. Those aren't cheap but they last for decades if well cared for. Models exist that run on gasoline, kerosene, or natural gas. All it takes is hooking it up to your circuit breaker/power and depending on the model it'll push several kilowatts, enough to run appliances, water pumps, the fridge, maybe even a PC or TV. Just turn the breakers off for the circuits in your home that you aren't using and let it power the critical stuff.
Depending on if your water supply is reliable you might want to keep a couple gallons of it stored somewhere, just in case. There are a variety of hand pump options if you have a well around, but if you are in the city you're probably at the mercy of their water supply.
Speaking of water, if your home becomes cold enough to freeze the pipes you can get in real trouble when they break. You might want to find out where you can turn off your water and drain the pipes if a deep freeze is coming, it's better than dealing with an indoor flood.
Any cheap boom box will keep you covered for radio and CDs. Pick up an e-book reader like a Kindle if you want to pump some neurons while waiting for the power to come back.
Simple foods work best. Canned goods keep a very long time without refrigeration, and you can get at them with any simple hand can opener plus even heat the cans right in a fire. Pick up meats, fruits, veggies, and anything else that tickles your fancy. I'm partial to cans of peaches myself. Remember that a few spices go a long way flavoring the food, too.
I also recommend having a good multi-tool handy, like a leatherman. Those include the can opener, a variety of cutting tools, bottle openers, pliers, and fit in your pocket or on a belt holster. If the power is out, odds are your regular service people are already busy with something else, so be prepared to do things yourself.
This is such a fantastically American answer to the question of "how can a person in a British city remain comfortable during a three-hour power outage that they were warned was coming a day in advance?"
Install a generator, dig a well, drain the water system, stock up on cans and water!
No disrespect intended, @Amarok, of course. These are good tips in general, perhaps some are just a teensy bit overkill in this instance. :)
Just covering all the bases. ;) I'd be prepared for a 3-day gap in power, that's usually as long as it can go for even in my neck of the woods.
As another American, my perspective is also way off. I was going to type a similar response before I saw this one, with the 2021 Texas outages in mind. There were people who were affected by "rolling" outages who were without power for a few days, so that's what I mentally prepare for.
It did make me smile, but to be fair I am looking at this thinking that "three hours" could actually mean anything from zero to a day or two. Last couple of years didn't leave me with the greatest sense of trust and optimism, y'know?
This is great as a worst-case checklist, I appreciate it!
I did actually end up stuck without food for two days when I was travelling earlier in the year and that's not one I'm eager to repeat, so having the cupboards stocked in case things get more serious than predicted is a good shout with no downside. My trusty leatherman is closing in on its 20th birthday at this point and it's come in handy more times than I can count, so I'm definitely with you there.
Might have to forego the diesel generator on the balcony for the sake of the neighbours, though!
The cool part about the generators is that some models are a couple hundred and just power whatever is directly plugged into them. One doesn't have to break the bank picking up a $1200 16KW generator to run the entire apartment when a $300 model can pump 2KW which is enough for the essentials when you want them - and do it with a lot less noise and pollution. The small ones are awesome. They go through your fuel a lot more slowly too.
Let’s start with a few questions:
What’s your living situation? Are you in a flat, terraced home, or detached home? Do you have any kind of outdoor space? Roommates?
Do you need any medications/special food that requires refrigeration?
Do you have pets?
Any other issues/concerns/quirks?
I'm in a pretty fortunate situation all round: just me in a small decently insulated flat, access to a balcony, no meaningful medical or dietary needs, plenty of places I can easily walk to if we hit any major problems.
The way I'd put it is that I don't feel at risk in any significant way, but it seems sensible to stop and think about planning for general comfort now because there's no harm in looking ahead, especially if things end up worse than predicted.
Thanks for answering, this helps me tailor the advice. I’m going to prepare this list for a worst case multi-day blackout, although almost all points are relevant to a shorter rolling blackout.
For more advice, I personally like The Prepared.
Thanks, that's really helpful!
I have a gas combi boiler for heating and hot water, but it won't work if there's no electricity. So I'm buying a little camping stove to give me small amounts of warm water for washing, but I'm also buying lots of large, cheap, blankets. So far the cheapest blanket I can buy is the type of recycled material used by removal companies. I'm going to buy cheap cotton sheets to finish them.
I have three weeks of tinned food (although it's probably more like 1.5 weeks if I'm honest) and I'm trying to build that up a bit more. This will be easy to cook on a camping gas stove.
There are solar-powered, motion-triggered night lights, which are handy because you can stick them anywhere indoors where there's at least some light during the day, and you don't need to charge them. It's not a lot of light, but it beats stumbling in the dark.