How Dependent are You on Electricity?

February 20, 2016

Now I like to think that I can get by without electricity.  So this week, I took the time to do a survey of our home to see how much we depended on electricity.  The idea being how much would a long-term loss of electricity affect us.  This study revealed some interesting results.

  • Clocks – I realized that all our clocks were electric with the exception of one older wristwatch.

  • Lights – here we had plenty of backup. We have a couple of small solar systems and kerosene that would supply adequate lighting if the power is out.

  • Heat – here we are a bit weak, but it doesn’t get very cold here for extended periods of time. If we dressed warmly, we would be fine.  We should work to improve this area

  • Freezer – We have generator backup for our freezers. This would give us time to use some of the food and preserve the rest.  However we need to improve our system for preserving meat from our freezer.  Because we would be dependent on salting it, I want to build a good smoker for preserving meat.

  • Garage door openers – We have an alternate system for securing our garage door, if we have to open and close it with the power out.

  • Phones – We have the capability of charging our cell phone, if they are still working. For landlines, we keep an older dial phone that is not dependent on the power in our home, but will work off the power in the phone lines, if the system is still functioning.  Power Outage Caused Phone Failure can Often be Prevented

  • Cooking – This not a problem for us, we have solar cookers, a kerosene stove and a rocket stove.

  • Communication – Battery operated ham and MURS radios can be charged by small solar panels.

  • Radio – We have a good solar and crank powered radio.

  • TV- I figure we will be better off without it.

  • Kitchen appliances – We have hand operated mixers and grinders. The rest we will do without.

  • Power tools – Electric power tools especially the battery operated ones are nice and handy and we will use them as long as we can. But when they fail we will go back to the old methods.  A Good List of Hand Tools You Need to Work Without Electricity.Hand Tools for Carpentry After TEOTWAWKI

  • Well pump – we don’t have a well, our water source is municipal water, but we have a stream across the street and some water storage.

Now I know that we have not covered everything.  Transportation and gardening both will require separate posts.  Take a look around your home and see what you will miss if the power goes down for an extended period of time.

Howard

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