So you’ve got your garden up and running, and you’ve got produce to sustain you. Perhaps you give some away to friends and neighbours, but even the most organised gardeners suffer from the “glut” and end up with a surplus.
What do you do? You preserve it for future use.
You may choose to make preserves like jams, pickles, or chutneys, or you may decide to dehydrate. A lot of you will elect to freeze, and that can be a very convenient way of storing produce of all sorts.
So what do you do when you have a power cut?
A recent power loss in our new rural home, got me thinking about this. Fortunately, for us our shiny new freezer didn’t contain much. Given I haven’t even had a chance to think about the garden (Dream, yes. Think seriously, and plan, no), and given the power cut wasn’t that long, it wasn’t a big deal.
But what if it had been?
What if the freezer was full, and what if due to whatever reason (overhead power lines down, strikes, for example) the power was out for longer.
We have two freezers. An upright one which is part of a fridge/freezer and a chest freezer. I know from experience, that if I open the upright one, the cold air “falls” right out of the freezer, causing the motor to kick in if the door is open too long. The chest freezer on the other hand stays colder for longer.
So, lesson number one: Chest Freezers are better in event of a power cut.
Researching this, I found that even without power, provided your freezer is reasonably well stocked (ie not too much air space between items), and provided you don’t open it frequently or for long periods, the food should stay reasonably OK for days.
Lesson number two: Don’t keep opening, or leave your freezer open for protracted periods.
What could I do beyond that? I started thinking about what else ran on electricity, and it became clear that a lack of electricity would be a real pain. Sure we have at least three other methods of cooking, but lighting would be a pain, and we wouldn’t be able to run our computers, even though the phone line was still likely to work (a telephone handset that doesn’t require a separate power plug, but merely plugs into the phone jack, draws it’s power from the phone network).
Sure we could invest in alternate power using solar, and that would be a great solution provided we had our own battery backup bank to store and recharge the power. A simple grid tied solution wouldn’t cut it, because if the grid went down, there would be no place to store any power we generate. We plan to do this in time, but it’s a big cost and in the interim, what would our options be?
I concluded that a sensible solution for everyone in this situation would be a small generator. Even once we had solar electricity up and running, a generator would be a great adjunct to deal with specific large loads (power tools for example).
So I started investigating and realised that specifying a generator is similar to considering solar power in some ways:
1. How big a generator do I need?
In my situation, I merely wanted to run a fridge/freezer, and a freezer, but I started thinking about the other appliances I might need. A TV wouldn’t be too big a problem, lighting should be ok, as would a battery charger. I could even run a laptop and broadband router. A kettle was a bit of a stretch at close to 2000watts, and I didn’t even contemplate the 1000watt microwave in the corner of the kitchen!
I concluded, that based on the items I was likely to run at any given time (beware that most appliances have a “peak load” when you first switch them on, and then settle into a lower “running load”, so don’t try to turn everything on at once, or run too many appliances simultaneously), and allowing for a 25% “just in case cushion”, I could get by with a 4Kw generator.
It’s worth checking how much electricity your power tools draw if you’re thinking of running those off a generator. Boy was I surprised!
This puts my “ideal” requirement in the £1-2,000 cost range, but if I wanted to run less equipment simultaneously (you don’t need to power the freezer constantly, a few hours a day is fine), then I could get a smaller generator for less than £1000. As I’m considering this as one part of a future power solution, then the lower option makes more sense for the longer term.
2. What will I run the generator on?
These days, it’s not merely a Petrol v Diesel decision. You can also buy natural gas generators, and most Petrol generators can indeed be converted.
Diesel is noisier, so if you’ve got neighbours close by that may not be the greatest solution. That said there are some silenced versions on the market which are less noisy.
Petrol is a dangerous substance to store due to being highly flammable, and there are laws in the UK that dictate how much you can store. On this basis, you have to think about whether you can drive to a filling station to keep your diesel fuelled (ironically, filling stations need electrical power to pump your fuel, but many will have backup power).
Diesel is most economical financially.
3. What other things do I need to consider?
Should I get the generator hardwired into the building with a changeover switch so that if I lose grid power it’s easy to get power back? If you decide to do this, please ensure you find a proper expert and following all the relevant safety and building regulations. Remember electricity can kill.
Where do I site the generator? Somewhere well vented and where fumes will not build up.
How do I move it around if I need to? Some are able to have wheels added but care should still be taken when moving them.
I hope sharing this experience and thought process prompts some thought. Until the next time.
