Nothing sends us back a century or two like an electric power outage. So much of what we call civilization lives or dies on the "juice" that we get with the flip of a switch. Home heating and cooling, lighting, appliances, tools, television, computers and many other modern essentials have an incurable addiction to controlled streams of electrons. With the primary electrical grid down, you're just going to have to give up on most of these familiar conveniences, but there is an array of portable power sources that can provide lighting, cooking heat, run a few tools and even let you listen to your favorite tunes or watch a little TV.
General Guidelines
-- Since I'm focusing mostly on more portable and longer-term alternatives to conventional technologies, I'll just give an admiring nod to those well-prepared few who have gasoline-powered, natural gas or propane back-up generators. In many ways these are ideal backups for routine power blackouts, especially the natural gas and propane-powered generators. Unfortunately most of us either can't afford them or don't have the proper set-up conditions. In any case, they are heavily dependent on relatively large fuel supplies, a factor that may limit their long-term utlilty. Still, there are few things sweeter than the sound of the back-up generator kicking in; and thank goodness most hospitals and public safety buildings have them on hand.
-- Short of these larger fossil-fuel generators, there are no conventional backup systems that can compensate for all but a fraction of the normal electrical demands of an average household (about 14,500 watt/hours per day per house -- without air-conditioning!). Refrigerators, air-conditioners, ranges, microwave ovens, electric furnaces, dishwashers, clothes dryers - the list goes on - all pull far too many watts. As far as alternative sources go, at present there are only about 250,000 American homes that use some significant level of photovoltaic (PV) solar power, and over 90 percent of these have only limited PV power output, typically used for water heaters. The reason is both cost and the often daunting square footage of the solar array. Click here for a more in-depth look at going solar. Don't get me wrong. Solar PV's will be a significant component of the "wave of the future", so now's a great time to explore solar technology in its more compact forms as practical emergency/survival tools.
-- So what about all the more common types of portable camping and emergency equipment for lighting and cooking? Keep them! Use them! I love my candles, kerosene lamps and conventional flashlights. Just a few suggestions: 1) For safety and improved light use your candles in a lantern; 2) Never store liquid fuels in your house or anyplace else that you don't want to burn down; 3) If you choose to depend on liquid hydrocarbon fuels for lighting and cooking, I suggest you check out the rugged, efficient Coleman models of Duel Fuel Stoves and Duel Fuel Lanterns. I'm not so keen on most liquid fuels anymore, but I make this suggestion after I heard a FEMA official suggest that you use your barbecue grill as an emergency cooking device. Fine for burgers and ribs, but coffee and pasta?
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PRELIMINARIES | WATER | FOOD | ENERGY
