Generators can be helpful when the power goes out. It is important to know how use them safely to prevent carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning and other hazards. Generators and fuel should always be used outdoors and at least 20 feet away from windows, doors and attached garages.
Flashlights and battery-operated lights and lanterns are a safer alternative. You can even buy light bulbs with built-in batteries that stay charged in your light sockets until needed. They should give you a 6 hours of light during a power outage. It never hurts to keep a ready supply of extra batteries handy.
Kerosene lamps and lanterns were the main source of light in the house and the barn. The circle of light cast by a kerosene lamp was small and it only gave the equivalent of 25 watts of light. Outside that small circle of light, the rooms of a farmhouse were dark in the evening.
Any appliance with an LCD, light, or clock, such as your DVD or DVR player, cable box, television, or microwave, consumes electricity even when turned off. Sleep or standby power mode devices are never entirely turned off; instead, they go into standby mode.
solar heater heats water using sunlight without electricity.
A grandfather clock. An automatic rifle. A compressed-air piston engine (sometimes used in underground mines where methane buildup means electricity is an explosion risk) A diesel engine with a compressed-air starter.
Solar energy: This is probably the most commonly known source of alternative energy, and for good reason. Solar energy is completely renewable, and the costs expended on installation can be made back through energy bill savings.
Yes. Like most devices, your TV draws a small amount of electricity even when it's off. Most TVs use about 1.3 watts in standby mode, or about 2-5% of the wattage required when turned on. It's a small amount of power, but devices like TVs have a big impact nationwide.
There would be no power to use your fridge or freezer, telephone lines would be down and phone signal lost. Your mobile phones will be useless as the battery dwindles, with no back up charging option. Your gas central heating won't work and your water supply would soon stop pumping clean water.
Illegal connections: An electricity connection is considered illegal when it is made to the Eskom network without Eskom's permission. Examples are connecting to a mini-substation or overhead pole.
For the vast majority of human existence; tens of thousands of years, if people wanted to do something at night—read, play games, music or even sing they used candles and oil lamps.
For homes with standard gravity toilets, you can breathe a sigh of relief. These toilets generally work normally during a power outage, and you can flush them as usual because they don't require electricity. On the other hand, if your toilet uses an electric pump or a sewage ejector, you might face some challenges.
Plan for batteries and other alternative power sources to meet your needs when the power goes out, such as a portable charger or power bank. Have flashlights for every household member. Determine whether your home phone will work in a power outage and how long battery backup will last.
If you have electric heat, heating your home uses the most energy. This can account for more than 30% of your electricity consumption. And if you have air conditioning, this number rises even higher. All told, your efforts to stay comfortable can use between 40% and 50% of the electricity in your home.
Battery backups allow specific appliances, tankless water heaters, gas appliances, and even electronics to keep running during times of a power outage. Depending on what appliances you have the battery backup running to, you can expect anywhere from five to 13 hours of continuous use.
Examples of non-electric appliances include gas stoves, kerosene lamps, wood-burning stoves, hand-cranked radios, manual sewing machines, traditional non-electric hand tools, and gravity-fed water filters.
Diesel engines (gasoline engines don't “run” on electricity but do have spark ignition). Many types of tractors, earth movers, excavators - usually combine diesel engines and hydraulic systems. Old time windmills that grind grain, pump water or turn a mechanical drive.