It's All In The Sun ;-)

ziggy12345 · Post by **ziggy12345** » 21 Apr 2010, 17:31

I was cut off for 4 hrs the other day so they could cut trees around the lines. No big deal

Cheers

biffvernon · Post by **biffvernon** » 21 Apr 2010, 17:51

History shows that when there is insufficient generating capacity, discretionary users, the big industries that buy on interruptible contracts lose first, then we move to short time working for industry in general and reductions in street-lighting and general admonitions to be frugal. Actual, real, blackouts are a very last resort and are pretty unlikely, barring equipment failure.

MrG · Post by **MrG** » 22 Apr 2010, 11:34

cold house
no lighting
no telly

I think its like a lot of you are saying - its not actually that bad.

The lighting thing is not a particularly big deal.. theres nothing wrong with candles. They did people just fine for centuries. Granted with people lighting up candles all over the country there'd be more fires.

More serious is central heating systems not working. We should all just be installing wood heat.

Even this isn't exactly the end of the world though. I still haven't sorted out a woodburner and I don't use my central heating anyway. Had it switched off still all through last winter and it got a bit nippy a couple of times but nothing you couldn't cope with by just putting on a jumper.

Granted its a different issue for the very old.

TV is a non issue I don't have one anyway.

The worst part for me would be my freezer not working. I've just got a massive chest freezer that I reckon will do me a whole years worth of veg off the allotment. I'd be gutted if a whole years worth of food was ruined and I'm very much aware of the need for me to learn more about food preservation that doesn't rely on the freezer.

I should be drying peas and beans instead of freezing them.. most winter veg you can obviously just leave in the ground. Freezers are still a bloody useful invention though.

Having no gas would be much worse than no electricity. I'd have to cook on a fire in the back garden which would be a pain in the arse if it was raining which it usually is. Got a portable gas hob though and they sell gas bottles sack trolley distance from my house. I need to grab a few of them and stash them in the shed.

if pubs make sure they have back up gennies they could do a roaring trade

damn right!

JohnB · Post by **JohnB** » 22 Apr 2010, 11:51

Insulation, insulation, draught proofing and some simple backup lighting and cooking facilities would solve much of the problem. If we're expecting power supply problems we should plan for them.

snow hope · Post by **snow hope** » 22 Apr 2010, 13:50

JohnB wrote:Insulation, insulation, draught proofing and some simple backup lighting and cooking facilities would solve much of the problem. If we're expecting power supply problems we should plan for them.

We certainly should John. And I am sure many of us on PS will do (maybe 100?) and probably a few thousand others up and down the country who are aware that there may be power problems coming (maybe 50,000?).

But what about the other 59,949,900 people in GB?!

snow hope · Post by **snow hope** » 22 Apr 2010, 14:05

MrG wrote: More serious is central heating systems not working. We should all just be installing wood heat.

I don't use my central heating anyway. Had it switched off still all through last winter and it got a bit nippy a couple of times but nothing you couldn't cope with by just putting on a jumper.

TV is a non issue I don't have one anyway.

The worst part for me would be my freezer not working.

Having no gas would be much worse than no electricity. I'd have to cook on a fire in the back garden which would be a pain in the arse if it was raining which it usually is.

Hmmmm. If everybody installed wood heaters, we would likely strip the country bare of wood in less than 1 year.

You chose not to use your central heating at all during the coldest winter in 30 years? How many burst pipes did you have? Were you married - when is the divorce coming through. You only had to put a jumper on a couple of times? Your house must be insulated to an incredible degree!

Although I don't watch TV much, I do watch documentaries and the news and weather. I also watch some programs for pure entertainment, the occasional film. It does have some informatant basis - like the volcanoes erruption etc.

My cooker works by electricity but I can cook a bit on my woodburner which intentionally has a flat top. We also have a BBQ we could use and a little gas burner we have used in emergencies.

Chest Freezer - wouldn't really miss it much.....

goslow · Post by **goslow** » 22 Apr 2010, 14:22

OK, I was not completely serious about the telly, though if we had a power cut in the middle of Doctor Who that would not go down well in my household!

-Lighting out, yep go to bed early. Or use candles but these are the most inefficient form of lighting known to man.
-Central heating out, well we are managing without our boiler right now, it broke down.
-Refrigeration out, this would clearly be a problem. Have picnic cooler and ice packs on standby?

anyone who feels they really need 247 electricity is probably best off with a backup generator. I don't think I really fall into that category.

MrG · Post by **MrG** » 22 Apr 2010, 16:11

Yeah we kept the heating off.. actually it was my housemate who was the main one for keeping it off purely because he's a tight fisted bugger. He grew up in a house with no central heating so he's used to it.

No burst pipes but we did have the hot water on once a day and well I did get a bit worried about the pipes had this whole discussion with him about that and I did give it the occasional short burst when it got really cold. But yeah basically we just kept it off we were pretty skint at the time as we need a third person living with us really and we didn't have last winter. Plus he went away for a quite a while and I couldn't justify turning the heating on just for me.

I'm not married.. I did actually turn the heating on once when the neighbour was round because I think my neighbour is lovely

and she looked cold... didn't want her going home just coz she was cold!

The house has got a foot of loft insulation but I was left thinking why on earth did I bother with all that loft insulation when I'm keeping in is body heat!

I hate electric cookers. I think I actually prefer cooking on an open fire to using an electric cooker. You actually have more control as an electric hob is so slow to heat up or cool down.

You got a good point about the wood though.. we can't ALL burn wood. What I mean is if we want to prepare we need to install wood heat. As you say if yuo got a flat topped burner you can cook on it as well.

Post by **kenneal - lagger** » 23 Apr 2010, 03:31

MrG wrote:The house has got a foot of loft insulation but I was left thinking why on earth did I bother with all that loft insulation when I'm keeping in is body heat!

You would have noticed a huge difference without that insulation. Don't knock it, MrG.

Have you draught proofed every thing as well?

leroy · Post by **leroy** » 23 Apr 2010, 07:46

MrG wrote:I did actually turn the heating on once when the neighbour was round because I think my neighbour is lovely and she looked cold... didn't want her going home just coz she was cold!

Nice one Mr G- it is incredible what we will do to attract a woman isn't it? I never, never text people unless its a girl that I really fancy in which case I find myself squinting at that little screen, tapping away and wrestling with the predictive text business.

Still looking for one who doesn't fly and likes the 'lottie though...

Post by **adam2** » 26 Apr 2010, 15:03

Freezers should be fine during rota power cuts, since these do not normally exceed 3 hours. Freezers stay frozen for from 4 to 36 hours, it varies that much.
Larger freezers generally stay cold longer.

Fridges warm up more quickly, and I would avoid keeping highly perishable foods if rota cuts are expected.

Rota cuts would probably lead to vast amounts of food waste, perhaps enough to drive up prices.
Rules about refrigeration temperatures in catering establishments and food shops are very strict, much more so than during the 1970s power cuts.
I suspect that the "elf an safety" would require that all food be disposed of after a power cut, unless it could be proved to have been at the correct temperature throughout.

I also suspect that rota power cuts would lead to the closure of most public transport, again for "elf an safety" reasons.
I remember in the 1970s rail stations being lit by oil lamps, but very much doubt that this would be allowed today.
Bus services ran during power cuts in the past, but these days it would probably be considered unsafe.

PS_RalphW · Post by **PS_RalphW** » 26 Apr 2010, 15:12

I think if the UK was faced with regular or frequent power cuts, 'elf & safety' would be dispensed with as quickly as zero ash tolerance in jet aircraft engines.

Just as EU regulations on coal power stations would be ignored in 'the national interest'.

BTW UK coal production was down in 2009, due to 'operational difficulties'.
Not enough economically recoverable coal.

96 years passed peak and still declining.

Vortex · Post by **Vortex** » 26 Apr 2010, 15:52

Not enough economically recoverable coal.

... but most people I meet think that the UK is simply FLOATING on a veritable OCEAN of coal ...

Post by **kenneal - lagger** » 26 Apr 2010, 16:23

Vortex wrote:
Not enough economically recoverable coal.
... but most people I meet think that the UK is simply FLOATING on a veritable OCEAN of coal ...

We are but it's not all recoverable conventionally. That's why insitu gasification is being pushed by various companies.

goslow · Post by **goslow** » 26 Apr 2010, 16:59

adam2 wrote:Freezers should be fine during rota power cuts, since these do not normally exceed 3 hours. Freezers stay frozen for from 4 to 36 hours, it varies that much.
Larger freezers generally stay cold longer.

that's reassuring