Blackout Preparation?

Callistemon-?

I'd better see where i put my xmas candles..they're in a box somewhere....?

Yes i remember we had power cuts when i was growing up.in the mid 70's i think.(I'm 58) we had water shortages with a street tap as well, and petrol shortages i think??

We have candles - must stock up on matches!

I don't know how my youngest (19) would manage without the internet/power.?

I've found it fascinating over the years that whenever we've had an electricity blackout, I can tell which houses in my street have older occupants - because you can see their candles lighting their rooms within a few minutes...
Like me, once you've got used to having candles & matches where you can put your hand on them quickly, it's still a habit - even 50 years later...?

I bathed my (then) baby during the blackouts in the 70s - the power in our area always went off at bath / bed time. We knew it was going to go off so were prepared with plenty of candles and camping lamps. I found it very calming actually and my daughter always slept well. Perhaps low lights, no TV etc are conducive to children’s bath / bed time If we do have blackouts this winter, we’ll just get prepared and we’ll manage - ensuring that any vulnerable neighbours are ok of course.

I won't have a smart meter yet, due to reliability issues. Still, I always have candles, a wind-up torch, a camping stove, batteries for the radio - and lots of blankets, just in case. There's a Halfords power pack on charge in the garage, too. In the autumn, I'll get some fuel for the fire.

I'm sure I saw an article where a woman was charging her electric car cheaply at night - but using it as battery storage for her home.

If we can't cope with demand currently, how will we cope when electric car popularity soars?

Grantanow if you don’t have Economy7 you can apparently still sign up for it, I’ve had it years and it definitely saves money if you use it to full advantage.

Most of us don't have a smart meter so we shall be cross-subsidizing those who do. Not everyone is convinced smart meters are reliable or work if you change supplier.

We had a plan with red, white and blue days. ??
On red days (around 30 per year) the electricity per kWh cost over 3 times the price and on blue days half the price. You get used to it as part of your lifestyle, no appliances on - laundry, dishwasher, TV, kettle etc- on red days, though it's your choice.

Baggs

Get candles.

I still have a stock of candles which my mother prudently bought in the 1970’s, when we had the 3 day week, and power cuts.

Good old mum, she always knew they would ‘come in handy sometime’.

People in my area had experience of blackouts last autumn, after Storm Arwen. No power for a week for some. I think ours was restored after five days. Luckily, someone gave us shelter in a holiday cottage but for those who had nowhere to go, it was an ordeal.

It seems sensible to me to smooth out demand. It’s like that old system of cheaper electricity at night that we used to have. Not sure if that still exists.

Good idea Teacheranne. I'm going to buy one of those. And a power pack for my phone. Be prepared! ?

My oil fired boiler won’t work without Electricity, our mobile phone won’t work in our area without Wifi, unless we trot down into the Village.

The plan is to get the Jackdaws nests out of the chimney in readiness for the Winter, (unfortunately, we haven’t found a Sweep who will come out and do it.) not much we can do about the Mobile signal. Plenty of candles and we have some portable gas stoves.
We will cope, we did it in the early 70s.

What happens to those people on the at risk register which a lot of us are?

The problems will really start if they blackout an entire area - shops, petrol stations, bank machines etc., won't be able to operate.

I can't help remembering that someone told me off a few days ago for saying that we were over reliant on modern technology.

DiamondLily

So many gas appliances are fired by electronic ignition now. Most gas cookers are.

My gas boiler won't work if the electricity is off.

My landline won't work, although the mobile phones will. I have a MiFi gadget for wi-fi (which works from a phone signal).

I thought we were past all this - we need to find a reliable way to produce our own energy, as we used to.

The problems will really start if they blackout an entire area - shops, petrol stations, bank machines etc., won't be able to operate.?

Yes although you can light gas hobs with a safety gas lighter or matches, and a gas fire too.

However, the central heating pump is driven by electricity.

I remember the 1970s and it was miserable, trying to keep small children warm, safe and fed.

This is now being reported on the BBC website.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-61949246

So many gas appliances are fired by electronic ignition now. Most gas cookers are.

My gas boiler won't work if the electricity is off.

My landline won't work, although the mobile phones will. I have a MiFi gadget for wi-fi (which works from a phone signal).

I thought we were past all this - we need to find a reliable way to produce our own energy, as we used to.

The problems will really start if they blackout an entire area - shops, petrol stations, bank machines etc., won't be able to operate.?

Provided the nearest phone mast is still working, your mobile phone will work during a power cut until the battery runs out Teacheranne. Your home telephone won’t work if your landline has been switched over to digital, as it relies on your home Wi-Fi to operate. If you haven’t yet been switched to digital, the old landline will work.

I’m just wondering if my gas central heating will also go off if there is an electric power cut, I guess it might not start up without electricity but if it’s already on what happens? I think that in a power cut I can still use my gas hob if I use a match to light the burners.

Also I assume my phone would still work so I could still access the internet?

Apologies if I appear ignorant about such things, I’m just pondering how I’d cope in an extended blackout. I remember a couple of winters ago I ended up spending a cold winters evening at my Mums house as I had no electricity for several hours due to workmen outside. But I seem to remember in the 1970s blackouts, they only lasted for a couple of hours at a time - or at least I think they did.

henetha

Worst case scenario. It may never happen. But it's best to be prepared, so stock up with candles and little battery operated lights. And buy a little camping gas stove. And blankets.

A wind up torch might be useful as well, you don’t need to worry about batteries then. I keep one in my bedside cabinet in case there is a power cut during the night.

The cheap rates overnight are a very similar system to economy 7, which runs from midnight to 7am. I already use the washing machine on the timer overnight, and the dishwasher. I’m sure lots of people do the same - it’s the evening use that would be the hardest to reduce.