The Lemon Fool

The UK seems to be drifting along with a fairly undefined energy strategy, apart from the fact that we will be moving to a future powered by electricity.

The energy market also looks to be getting rather volatile.

Is anyone looking seriously at backup home heating solutions in the event of possible power cuts? Or maybe the probability is so low it isn't worth considering.

scotview wrote:The UK seems to be drifting along with a fairly undefined energy strategy, apart from the fact that we will be moving to a future powered by electricity.

The energy market also looks to be getting rather volatile.

Is anyone looking seriously at backup home heating solutions in the event of possible power cuts? Or maybe the probability is so low it isn't worth considering.

I'll be OK for heating because I burn a lot of (well seasoned) wood. But after reading some news items this morning I wondered how much paraffin I have for my hurricane lamp.

RC

The options for most people are very limited. If normal gas & electricity supplies were cut the only options that I can think of are:
* Wood / pellet burners.
* Coal fires.
* Bottled gas for portable heaters.
* BBQs

Don't forget thermal under garments
tried them for the first time last year, boy do they make a dfference
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07V6QR771/

and one of these comes in handy
I always know where mine is, even in the dark
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rolson-Quality ... B003KGB992

Not needed.
Don't you know that eating carrots helps you see in the dark ?

richlist wrote:Not needed.
Don't you know that eating carrots helps you see in the dark ?

about as much as eating blueberries will turn you blue

I'm not too worried about heating. I have coats and clothes.

Cooking would be more of a problem. Though we have enough gas in the camper van to last a week or two.

And when I work I need a computer.

Midsmartin wrote:Cooking would be more of a problem.

Really? C.

csearle wrote:

Midsmartin wrote:Cooking would be more of a problem.

Really? C.

You can eat carrots cold.

richlist wrote:

csearle wrote:

Midsmartin wrote:Cooking would be more of a problem.

Really? C.

You can eat carrots cold.

You also can eat dead things cold (steak tartare, sashimi, etc.) C.

Not very appetising
come on ... carrots was a joke

I think there's 2 separate issues:

1) Power cut caused by a fault - likely fixed within hours; a day or 2 at the most. DNOs are pretty good at fixing faults, and if they can't a generator will appear and get hooked up to get power back while they fix the fault. I'm not sure there's much need to take extra precautions against this happening.

2) Power cut caused by a lack of generation - a much bigger problem and one I think is on the cards for this winter. There's not much the DNOs can do if there is not enough being generated. Whether it's worth mitigating against this IMHO depends on where you live. The biggest problem is likely the disruption to supermarkets and shops so maybe some extra food would be useful alongside the usual candles and blankets.


We've had a diesel generator for years which was purchased during a spell living in rural Scotland fed from an overhead line that went out every time there was a storm. Rather expensive to run but invaluable. It's got a 32A 230V output which is sufficient to run everything except the shower. One oil filled radiator is about the max for heating.

Cost wise I think it was about £1k to purchase and it costs about £10 a day to run (with the tank needing filled every day) on red diesel, substantially more if you need to buy it from the petrol station. A bit noisy too which is fine in the sticks but maybe not in the middle of suburbia.

If you've got gas central heating then you can run the heating, although once during a protracted power cut in a subsequent house the gas pressure dropped off to the point where the boiler shut off which i'm presuming was due to the power cut affecting the gas supply network.

Unless you live in Cumbria or rural Wales (or just want to look smug in front of the neighbours) it's possibly OTT, although working in the leccy industry i'm buying extra diesel for this winter..

vagrantbrain wrote:If you've got gas central heating then you can run the heating

Really? What about the pump, valves, sensors, circuit board etc. - all need electricity I think

Adrian

AJC5001 wrote:

vagrantbrain wrote:If you've got gas central heating then you can run the heating

Really? What about the pump, valves, sensors, circuit board etc. - all need electricity I think

Adrian

You can stand round a gas stove top and use it to warm your hands/boil water (if you remember that the piezo starter isn't going to work)

- sd

AJC5001 wrote:

vagrantbrain wrote:If you've got gas central heating then you can run the heating

Really? What about the pump, valves, sensors, circuit board etc. - all need electricity I think

Adrian

I'm fairly certain that vagrantbrain mentioned having a generator, so electricity to run the pump etc would not be a problem for them.

Indeed their generator is a huge overkill for that with it's 32A output. It wouldn't be that difficult to specify a battery backup system if gas central heating, lights, TV and simple computer were all that was needed. You would however need a generator that big if you wanted to be able to use the washing machine or the heating was not gas, but electric.

Ps, I understand that many car companies are recycling EV batteries into backup systems when the range becomes an issue for the car. Here is a link to Tesla's offering.
https://www.tesla.com/en_GB/powerwall

AJC5001 wrote:

vagrantbrain wrote:If you've got gas central heating then you can run the heating

Really? What about the pump, valves, sensors, circuit board etc. - all need electricity I think

Adrian

What do you think the generator, which was the subject of the post, is for??

scotview wrote:Is anyone looking seriously at backup home heating solutions in the event of possible power cuts? Or maybe the probability is so low it isn't worth considering.

That'll be cold showers. Bracing, but something that happens whenever the hot water fails - last winter here when the boiler needed replacing, and through decades of often-dodgy rentals.

I'll be much more bothered if I have to endure long winter nights with no light or computer.

Or food.

There is also a situation of widespread power outages due to a natural disaster. Restoration can take a while. Fortunately this is more common in Louisiana that Luton, but climate change is and will be global, so this should be planned for even if not in the wilds of Scotland.

One solution is running a 1000W inverter from a car. This works for all IC cars, but is better for a hybrid that will automatically run the engine intermittently at non-ruinous efficiency. A few hundred watts of electric power is a lot better than zero watts. It's usually enough to run a fridge, central heating auxiliaries, a few light bulbs, phone chargers, etc. (However no hair driers, cookers, or other electric heaters.)

My strategy is to decamp to one or another of my boats.

Home from home!

Mike4 wrote:My strategy is to decamp to one or another of my boats.

My strategy is just to leave the country for somewhere warmer.