I’ve been researching portable solar generators because just last week we had a power outage that lasted from ten in the morning till 8.30 at night. We had a bit of strong wind, nothing really but it was enough to bring down a few power lines and the electricity went out on a strip of coast about two hundred miles long.
I was pretty stressed about it due to a work deadline. I didn’t have the stuff I needed on my lap top and I just couldn’t do anything. I was organising a ’sustainable style’ fashion parade for that weekend and my notes for the script were on the desk top PC and I needed to compile the music and I was already a solid day behind schedule.
Meanwhile nearly every shop in town had to close up. Automatic doors, electronic tills, eftpos machines, lights everything was out and businesses couldn’t function. If just one of them had a portable solar generator they would have cleaned up that day instead of losing a whole days revenue.
It was a cold day too. I was alright at home because I have a wood fire. So I was warm and could heat up food and water on my stove top but I spoke to other people who had electric heating and they really suffered.
Because I’m a Sustainability Officer for our local council a lot of people wanted to talk to me about the power outage and what they could do to be prepared in future. Coincidentally I had also been running climate change film festivals and sustainability fairs all month so the topics of survival, alternative energy and carbon reduction were all hot subjects for discussion.
It really is ridiculous that we are so reliant on grid power. Up till recently mains or grid tied electricity has been a cheap reliable source of power but that’s not the way it’s looking for the future.
Where I live the price of power has gone up more than thirty percent in the last five years and it’s still rising.
The infrastructure is deteriorating and governments are not updating. In Australia we had some terrible bushfires a couple of years back. Nearly two hundred people died and one of the main causes was the poor condition of the electricity poles and wires. A key recommendation of the inquiry was to immediately and substantially upgrade the system. Not going to happen says the government. Can’t afford it they reckon.
Carbon taxes and emissions trading schemes are going to increase the price of everything. Sometimes drastically. The true cost of power is at the root of this. There is no escape. We are going to have to pay our way out of this one.
So when people asked me after the long outage what they could do to prepare for the inevitable future disruptions my advise was to invest in some sort of home solar power system.
There are so many different options for how to convert your home to solar power temporarily or permanently. An excellent choice for many people is a mobile or portable solar generator.
The SUNRNR is the best solar generator I have found so far for the US and they also have a model suitable for overseas customers. This solar energy generator can be charged by a panel, a wind turbine, micro hydro or even a bicycle. It’s not exactly cheap but it is a complete plug and play residential power system. It can be used indoors or out and is completely silent. Worth a look!
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