Power cuts - are you prepped?

I’ve just ordered a power bank for my iPad and phone , my landline won’t work in a power outage

I'm pretty well prepared but just a few extras are needed so I'm making a list. (I like lists). Matches, batteries, gas cylinders etc....I'll get them soon.

Apart from the freezer potentially defrosting we will manage. There is a small solid fuel stove in the thread if we get desperate! We have quite a bit of outdoor and camping equipment that will come in handy.

Maybe70 you can buy freezers that operate in low temps. Ideal for the garage, we have one in ours.

Gas central heating and gas hob need electricity so I am hoping that power off times are timetabled so that I can be prepared with thermos flasks and hot water bottles. I have bought two chargeable table lamps so that at least I can read in bed with my hot water bottle and a warm drink. Not looking forward to it!

have now ordered a small camping cooker, so will at least be able to boil a kettle and heat soup!

Thank you Casdon. I need to put some plans in place for my mother. It is worrying because she is getting increasingly frail and confused. A power cut would really worry and confuse her. I can't bring her to mine for any length of time because I can't get her upstairs to the bathroom.

Thank you also Daisymae. This thread has made me realise I need to think about what to do.

We have everything we need to keep us warm , give us light and to make warm drinks and to warm up or cook food

If the power cuts are only three hours long, houses that are centrally heated shouldn't cool down much anyway, and food in freezers should be absolutely fine.

We already get several unexpected power (and water) cuts a year that are longer than that, and even in a heatwave the freezer things have been fine.
That's rural living for you - though no more than 60 miles from London!

We have candles for light and big fat candles which when lit, give off quite a bit of heat. I bought new hot water bottles earlier this year, we have blankets, foil blankets a wind up radio, gas portable stoves and spare canisters, camping kettles and saucepans, a power pack for phones and iPads, we also use MrOops phone as a hot spot.
We also have rechargeable torches and a newly cleaned chimney for an open fire. Plenty of tinned food in the garage.

We will be fine but I don’t look forward to it, reminds me of the early 70s with our power cuts.

Next door has the noisiest generator that sounds like a tractor and kicks in when he has a power outage, so he will be fine!

We have a gas fire in the lounge and the stairs go up from there, so we could warm the house (at a cost!).
Our household cooking appliances are all electric but we have a caravan on the drive with a gas cooker, so we could use that.
I'm not sure how we're fixed for lighting, that needs some consideration so thank you for this timely thread Daisymae ?

Does having a torch count as being prepared????

Maizie the pv panels would not work without the inverter, which requires mains electricity and I remember that our solar thermal panels in my last house had a pump, to send the water into the eco cylinder

Looking at the above, all sensible posts and none of you will be caught short

Just imagine winter gales knocking power lines down on top of the energy problem. Barely a winter goes by without some area or other losing power for a long time. We will get through, of course we will. The non-preppers will not be as comfortable

We quite frequently have unexpected power cuts so are fairly well prepared.

Candles, camping lantern, 2 oil lamps & rechargeable head torches.

Woodburner that heats water and a solar thermal panel. I do wish that I'd pushed OH harder to get solar PV panels installed but too late now..

Cook on bottled gas and have a 'proper' kettle.
I could try out some haybox cookery, though..

I don't think that 3hours without electricity is going to harm stuff in the freezer. Should it stay OK for about 12 hours, so long as you keep it closed?

I seem to recall that the power cuts in the 1970s were mostly during daylight hours. But national TV was switched off at 10pm. Don't think that would go down too well today...

my tall miele freezer will be good for 2 days without power. The best way to fill air spaces is with containers of water as water has a good thermal capacity ie will stay frozen longer, much longer than eg bread or crumpled newspaper

anna7 hospitals and care homes have emergency generators so that essential equipment continues to work in the event of power cuts. I doubt the same would apply to retirement apartments, so each resident would need to make their own preparations presumably. I’ve been thinking about my very elderly parents and how they would manage, and looking at battery operated heated throws as one solution. They do have a gas fire and cooker, but just as a backup.

I remember the power cuts in the ?late 60s/early 70s when our neighbours used to run in with their Sunday roasts to finish in our gas oven when the power to their electric ovens failed. It won't be as bad if we are forewarned of expected power cut schedules! As others have said we could pre-fill a flask with hot water for drinks and perhaps pre-warm the beds, and set phone alarms if cuts are overnight and electric alarm clocks will be confused.
I think we will be alright as we have torches, candles and a gas hob ( we cook and heat by calor gas) and 2 multifuel burners - one which also can heat water ( although the water pump is electric). In a long power cut we would struggle more with our 'waste management system ( upgrade on a septic tank) as that needs electricity to function ( we are not on main drainage)- so eventually the toilet would back up! Our neighbours (its rural) will have similar difficulties. We do have a camper van with little chemical loo if we get caught short!
DH is considering getting a small reconditioned petrol generator - to provide enough power for a light and to run the waste system and central heating pump. We have a Calor gas tank in the garden and a store of dried wood.
I'll get in extra batteries and possibly a couple of hot water bottles.
Those people thinking of buying camping gas appliances to cook on or for heating- remember most need ventilation- as the exhaust could kill you in an enclosed room. -Its best to check whether the appliance you have for outdoor use ( or are thinking of buying) can be used safely indoors .

Ours does chestnut. Needed it last week when we finally had a smart meter fitted. Very backward here .

Summerlove

I find this thread interesting and refreshing.

When people previously talked about buying things in advance and being prepared, they were derided for panicking, panic buying and causing more issues.

How lovely that people actually do understand that being prepared is a good thing.

Buying in advance is not the same as panic buying, especially if you buy a few months in advance. Panic buying is when people rush out to buy lorry loads of whatever they think is in short supply. This is done at the point of needing it!

Maya1

Thank you doodledog, l didn't know that you could use your mobile phone as a hotspot. I will look up how to do so.
I will also order a power bank.

Get back if you have any problems? I can talk you through doing it on Apple, and someone will be able to do the same if you use Android/PC.

Do you think there would be any special measures in place in the event of power cuts for care homes and retirement apartments? I hope so, my 91 year old mum lives by herself in a retirement apartment and I don't know how she would manage if the power was cut.

cornergran We kept an old plug in phone which doesn’t need electricity and keeps the landline going in a power cut.
BT have just upgraded me to fibre optic so my old landline phones will no longer work even if I plug them in. BT has given me posh new landline phones but they won't work if there is no electricity! That's progress for you, it just works backwards.

I suggest everyone planning on using old landline phones check that they will in fact work when they plug them in.

Ice blocks are a great way to fill gaps. Also cheap loaves of bread will keep the freezer full (and can be useful to have) I've heard its cheaper to run if it's full, too.

We have two freezers and are keeping both full, but also have food that can be heated or boiled.

In France there is a new app people can sign up called EcoWatt
^It will class the country or regions of the country as being green – meaning normal electricity consumption – orange or red.

Orange means that the grid is under strain and people – primarily businesses with high energy consumption – should consider reducing their electricity use to help the situation.

Red means that the grid is under extreme pressure and power cuts are likely^

I find this thread interesting and refreshing.

When people previously talked about buying things in advance and being prepared, they were derided for panicking, panic buying and causing more issues.

How lovely that people actually do understand that being prepared is a good thing.

My freezer is very old and is kept in a cold room but modern freezers have to be kept above a certain temperature. Same with fridges I think. I found all this out when I bought a mini fridge last winter and tried to run it in the utility room that has no heating.