PowerSwitch

I doubt that I can afford to stockpile several years worth of goodies to ride out the first onslaught of Peak Oil etc.

However I CAN afford a few random 'Top One Percent' preparations.

For example, I like electric light at night and also watching DVDS and listening to the radio. A crate of small CFLs, a basic battery + invertor system and a 12 V DVD player etc sort this out.

I also like being clean so a stash of soap and shampoo will help there.

A few dozen bottles of vitamin tablets will help eke out a poor diet.

A bike or two will keep us mobile.

What 'essential' goodies would YOU put aside to make life an Energy Descent disrupted life a tad more bearable?

I'd like to set up a battery feed to our boiler...I know it sounds daft, BUT I also know that power cuts are, and guess wil be, far more common than gas cutoffs because the former are so much easier for the supplier to deal with. The gas will be used for HW only of course.

We also have one of those Swedish Army fire-starter things and I'm getting a Katadyn in the autunm.

Shampoo and stuff, we use it so slowly, it's probably not much of an issue. We always have a huge stash of toothpaste but we also have baking soda and mint (growing) which make a passable substiute.

I'm learning (very slowly ) to look after our lemon plant so we'll have lemons: good for cleaning (hair, tiles, etc) and salads.

Learning how to make perfume (very popular during water shortages!) might be a good move.

I've been known to use vodka instead of TCP.

We have bicycles and a stash of oil, WD40, spanners etc.

Really, I think back to when I was a kid in the '70's and, what sort of things were useful to have around the house then.

For me, simply being able to flick a switch and have light at night would be WONDERFUL.

Pfaffing about with kerosene or candles is not nice ...

There will be gas shortages. Since it is dangerous to cut off gas pipelines as air can then get in and cause explosions, the answer will be to cut off our electricity since all boilers need power.

So a battery back up for the boiler and water pump is a good idea.

I want to get a decent inverter and a rack of batteries and link it into my mains. This will stop my freezer from defrosting, keep the boiler going and keep my solar water pump going (and keep the back boiler of a multifuel burner going when I get one!).

The system needs to give me a couple of hours power as I think we will see rolling blackouts across the country, rather than for days at a time.

Batteries are harder to nick and are not as noisy as generators......

Philip W wrote:There will be gas shortages. Since it is dangerous to cut off gas pipelines as air can then get in and cause explosions, the answer will be to cut off our electricity since all boilers need power.

So a battery back up for the boiler and water pump is a good idea.

I want to get a decent inverter and a rack of batteries and link it into my mains. This will stop my freezer from defrosting, keep the boiler going and keep my solar water pump going (and keep the back boiler of a multifuel burner going when I get one!).

The system needs to give me a couple of hours power as I think we will see rolling blackouts across the country, rather than for days at a time.

Batteries are harder to nick and are not as noisy as generators......

I'm beginning to think that this is the optimum solution.

If we ever have LONG blackouts then its Mad Max time

A small solar PV with battery might be a good idea too ... but only to power lights and possibly TV, PC & radio in the event of 2 or 3 week long power cuts caused by say storms or flooding.

RenewableCandy wrote:I'd like to set up a battery feed to our boiler...I know it sounds daft, BUT I also know that power cuts are, and guess wil be, far more common than gas cutoffs because the former are so much easier for the supplier to deal with. The gas will be used for HW only of course.

We also have one of those Swedish Army fire-starter things and I'm getting a Katadyn in the autunm.

Shampoo and stuff, we use it so slowly, it's probably not much of an issue. We always have a huge stash of toothpaste but we also have baking soda and mint (growing) which make a passable substiute.

I'm learning (very slowly ) to look after our lemon plant so we'll have lemons: good for cleaning (hair, tiles, etc) and salads.

Learning how to make perfume (very popular during water shortages!) might be a good move.

I've been known to use vodka instead of TCP.

We have bicycles and a stash of oil, WD40, spanners etc.

Really, I think back to when I was a kid in the '70's and, what sort of things were useful to have around the house then.

You drink TCP? What mixer do you use?

Like I said, I have a stash of oil and WD40. Stops the damp getting into my joints you should try it before those all-night jaunts across Dartmoor!

To add a bit of colour (For that cocktail effect) there's some potassium Permanganate as well.

A raging toothache this afternoon reminded me that at the first sign of shortages I will stock up on paracetamol and ibuprofen.

I would recomend a generous stock of water purification tablets as sold for camping etc. They are cheap and compact and store well provided the container is sealed.

Dont forget spare clothing, blankets, and footwear, if funds are tight, then secondhand from charity shops etc. is better than nothing.

Catweazle wrote:A raging toothache this afternoon reminded me that at the first sign of shortages I will stock up on paracetamol and ibuprofen.

You could try chewing cloves. Actually they keep for ages: stash cloves!

RenewableCandy wrote:

Catweazle wrote:A raging toothache this afternoon reminded me that at the first sign of shortages I will stock up on paracetamol and ibuprofen.

You could try chewing cloves. Actually they keep for ages: stash cloves!

I think conventional painkillers are more versatile, but now you mention it, cloves and exotic spices would be very "tradeable" as they add flavour to what will be a more mundane diet once long distance food is a thing of the past.