Electrickery

[northwest]

Or rather, lack of it :-( Got up this morning at sixish to find nothing worked. Power is out, again, it is becoming regular this. Anyhow, I am non functioning without coffee AND the hot liquid helps dissolve all the tablets I have to take first thing so I am able to function.
So lying there with all the permutations of how I am going to get hot coffee I hear a kettle whistling downstairs!!!

My missus, who really is very resourceful has put the (gas) fire on and got the non-electric kettle out! Me? I set my phone up as a hotspot and the laptop is fully charged so I have a couple hours at least. It really is a bloody nuisance this, but she is happy, doesn't have to work WFH no computer and as you would expect, she has a wind up radio. I have considered a Genny in the past, even had one at one point but this won't last long, besides, we could actually talk to each other. The only other thing I could think of as a negative is how do you make an omelette on an open fire, same way as on a stove I would hope, I will soon be able to tell you anyway.

 

[Blobber]

You could always take the Mrs out for breakfast?

 

[Robotstar5]

Get yourself a gas camping stove and stick it in the shed/loft "just in case".

 

[Migmac]

We have a gas grill and a ring for when the power goes off. We also keep a box of camping gas cylinders to keep the gas grill and ring going. The wood burner can be used to boil a kettle or heat up a pan of soup.

 

[Porkypine]

Or, get a modest solar thing, I recently set one up on't shed roof, it will run a kettle, toaster, microwave etc quite happily, obviously it could also easily charge up phone etc.
A couple of mates mocked me initially saying it'd be useless, but they've had to change their mind having seen how useful it is

 

[Kayos]

PV with a battery and a gateway/inverter that allows island mode

Without island mode the batteries won't work without a grid supply

 

[piman]

Hello Northwest,

why should there be frequent power cuts, doesn't your local area network provider give you any information? (I assuming an area failure not just a small locality, e.g. a street)

I doubt we have even one year in my Scottish Power supplied area including planned outage which we get told about.

Alec

 

[Porkypine]

PV with a battery and a gateway/inverter that allows island mode

Without island mode the batteries won't work without a grid supply

No idea what 'island mode' is but this simple system just has a 450w panel, a charge controller, 2 lifepo batteries in series giving 24v, and a 1500w inverter to run stuff.
A completely independent little system not fixed to any grid and works fine as stated.

 

[Migmac]

Hello Northwest,

why should there be frequent power cuts, doesn't your local area network provider give you any information? (I assuming an area failure not just a small locality, e.g. a street)

I doubt we have even one year in my Scottish Power supplied area including planned outage which we get told about.

Alec

He runs out of 50p pieces

 

[Porkypine]

He runs out of 50p pieces

Shillings, shurely...?

 

[Kayos]

No idea what 'island mode' is but this simple system just has a 450w panel, a charge controller, 2 lifepo batteries in series giving 24v, and a 1500w inverter to run stuff.
A completely independent little system not fixed to any grid and works fine as stated.

As I said, island mode allows a grid connected PV/battery system to work off grid, integrated into the mains supply and not a separate DIY system

 

[RichardM]

Get yourself a gas camping stove and stick it in the shed/loft "just in case".

Ditto, we have my little one I use on the bike and toast double burner.
Alternatively gas BBQ?

 

[zzr1200]

We sometimes have the same problem, another way to overcome is a genny, 32 amp input and a change over box/switch in between the meter and the consumer unit:-

 

[gaz1]

rocket stove breakfast

 

[addjunkie]

We sometimes have the same problem, another way to overcome is a genny, 32 amp input and a change over box/switch in between the meter and the consumer unit:-

I have similar and an 6 kva generator…runs everything in the house but the electric cooker, if we are careful. Feed ourselves with the airfryer.

 

[brightspark]

if you ever get a powercut dont get the camping gaz stove out and put it on the electric cooker top i went to a callout and the whole kitchen was trashed ceiling down doors blew off window blown out and all appliances buckled it was sat on top of hotplate on the top of cooker left turned on and the power came back on seen nowt like it

 

[Bornfree]

if you ever get a powercut dont get the camping gaz stove out and put it on the electric cooker top i went to a callout and the whole kitchen was trashed ceiling down doors blew off window blown out and all appliances buckled it was sat on top of hotplate on the top of cooker left turned on and the power came back on seen nowt like it

Yes but the sausages were cooked perfectly.

 

[redlig]

He runs out of 50p pieces

More than likely the piece of fishing line he uses to ' recycle' the 50 pence piece has broken.

 

[voipio]

It's popped up in several news feeds today. Within a few months, Amazon and Lidl are going to offer solar panels that plug in to the mains, allowing solar generated power to be injected into the grid, to reduce electricity bills. Up to 800 Watts-worth is proposed to be allowed. Not sure that these will be able to operate in island mode, although it would be very useful if they could be employed for stand alone operation, during a power cut.

£400 plug-in solar panels to be sold by Lidl and Amazon to cut your energy bills

A UK household could save £70 to £110 a year from using the technology

inews.co.uk

Government to make “plug-in solar” available within months

“Plug-in” solar panels to be in shops within months, offering households chance to significantly cut energy bills.

www.gov.uk

 

[Robotstar5]

It's popped up in several news feeds today. Within a few months, Amazon and Lidl are going to offer solar panels that plug in to the mains, allowing solar generated power to be injected into the grid, to reduce electricity bills. Up to 800 Watts-worth is proposed to be allowed. Not sure that these will be able to operate in island mode, although it would be very useful if they could be employed for stand alone operation, during a power cut.

£400 plug-in solar panels to be sold by Lidl and Amazon to cut your energy bills

A UK household could save £70 to £110 a year from using the technology

inews.co.uk

The article has a paywall so I didn't read it, does it mention that the laws (BS 7671 regs) need to be changed to allow them to be used?.