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How To Survive A Long-Term Power Outage About This Website |
About This Website This website helps explain why and how a long-term blackout can occur, what to expect and do if it does occur, and what you can do to prepare before it occurs. The how to prepare and survive information found on this website also assumes you plan and hope to remain in your home and protect your family and emergency supplies to the best of your ability. You should have already noticed that all of the elite individuals, government officials, and others who have an abundance of wealth are already well stocked in emergency food and water with underground safe houses powered by solar panels and batteries - for a reason. They obviously know something more than what we are told. Although the cost and availability of a solar system and solar products has remained relatively reasonable, the cost of emergency food has more than tripled and availability is somewhat limited over the past few years - for a reason. If you live within a city or far out in the country, the information on this website might not help or benefit you as much as the others. If a long-term power outage or grid failure was to occur, people living in the city would likely have little or no chance to survive if they remain in place. People living in the country, the farmers and the amish, already know how and are able to survive a catastrophic power outage with little or no affect and will go on living pretty much as normal. Sad to say, people who did not prepare for a sudden long-term disaster will become the "hunters" and people who did prepare will become the "hunted". And, there will be no police or cavalry to answer your plea for help.
A survival plan can range from doing nothing at all to doing everything you can for piece of mind, comfort and survival. Most people have no idea where to start and others would rather not think about it at all. This website is designed to educate people on the consequences of a long-term power outage or blackout and how survival planning will make a difference in how long and comfortable they might survive. Keep in mind that nobody is coming to your rescue. This website also offers links to products on other websites all of which are products we use ourselves or recommend in planning and preparing for a long-term power outage or blackout. With our research and testing, we can share our experiences and opinions of what or which essential products and devices work the best for us with cost and quality in mind. You can use this website as a short-cut to finding products and devices that might work for you. Notice on Amazon alone, thousands upon thousands of people are investing in solar panels and solar batteries, motion sensor alarms, security cameras, rechargeable batteries, emergency food, and other emergency supplies. Guns and ammunition sales is at a record high and solar systems sales are higher than ever before. There is a reason why people are investing in these products. You should also notice that there is a lot of emphasis on solar energy and solar systems on this website. We are not solar nerds or clean air activists or fossil fuel haters. We just know that some form of continuous long-term energy is necessary to survive more comfortably in a local, national, or global catastrophe. About Us We are basically simple ordinary middle class people concerned about the consequences of a short-term or long-term power outage or even a catastrophic power outage when we realized many reasons why and how it actually could happen. Rather than fearing the consequences of a disaster, we decided to plan and prepare for a disaster as a hobby. We believe any catastrophic event unleashed in America will be short lived and Americans will march forward and rebuild as history shows from the past. We will learn from our mistakes and we will continue to build an even greater America for all people. Over the years, we have carefully studied and planned and even practiced everything we need to know and do to survive a long-term power outage with the least amount of discomfort. We created this website to share what we have learned to help others prepare for and survive a power outage too. What we do know: You Will Need Food And Water Without food and fresh drinking water, you will not survive more than a few days or weeks. You Will Need An Energy Source Without an energy source, all of your electrical devices and appliances and generators will stop working. You Will Need A Survival Plan Without a survival plan, you will suffer great discomfort and consequences and reduce your chance of survival. You Will Need A Defense Plan Without a defense plan, you will not be able to protect your family and emergency supplies from intruders and thieves.
How We Solved Our Energy Source Issue We realized a gas or propane generator would be useless as soon as there is no more fuel. In addition, they are too loud and attract attention with cold weather, long extension cord, and maintenance issues. Maybe good for a short-term plan, but not good at all for a long-term plan. An alternative energy source for us was a solar system kit as a sun and battery powered electric company. A small simple plug and play solar system consisting of one or more solar panels, a charge controller, one or more solar batteries, an inverter, and all of the necessary wires. Simple enough for us to install and understand and see how it works! We were so impressed with the results of our first solar system kit that we installed on our wood shed, that we installed a solar kit on each of our other outbuildings to provide 12v interior and exterior lighting and a low wattage inverter to provide electricity for small 120v electrical devices. All prepaid electricity for 25+ years. And, what an experience and we are glad we did. In addition, we purchased two 100 watt panels and a 40amp charge controller to charge and maintain two 80amp deep cycle batteries for our travel trailer. This set up was a suitcase solar system where we can fold the solar panels into a suitcase and store them as needed. Keeps the batteries alive at full capacity while in use and helps them last longer than normal. I am not a solar expert or electrician, I am a typical homeowner and somewhat DIY type person fascinated with solar energy. Solar and simple electricity is not complicated. Youtube can explain everything in very simple terms. How We Set Up Our Outbuilding Off-Grid Battery Backup Solar Systems One of our outbuildings are powered by two 100 watt panels, a 30amp charge controller, two 12v 35amp deep cycle batteries, and a 150w inverter. With 14/2 romex wire for interior 12v lighting and 16AWG 2pin electrical wire for two exterior 12v flood lights and one 120v security camera. This building did not get much direct sunlight and pointed east. One of our outbuildings are powered by two 100 watt panels, a 20amp charge controller, and two 12v 35amp deep cycle batteries. With 14/2 romex wire for interior 12v lighting and 16AWG 2pin electrical wire for three exterior 12v flood lights. This building did not get much direct sunlight and pointed east. One of our outbuildings are powered by one 100 watt panel, a 10amp charge controller, two 12v 35amp deep cycle batteries, and a 300w inverter. With 14/2 romex wire for interior 12v lighting and 16AWG 2pin electrical wire for two exterior 12v flood lights and one exterior porch light. One of our outbuildings are powered by one 100 watt panels, a 10amp charge controller, and one 12v 35amp deep cycle battery. With 14/2 romex wire for interior 12v lighting and 16AWG 2pin electrical wire for two exterior 12v flood lights. Totals: Six 100 watt panels, four 10 to 30amp charge controllers, seven 35amp deep cycle batteries, and two inverters. This set up lights up our back yard and serves as option to create one 600 watt emergency solar system if needed. Note: All solar panels are identical 100 watt 12 volt monocrystalline solar panels (compact design) and all solar batteries are identical 12v 35amp AGM deep cycle solar batteries. This set up allows us to use our solar equipment in many different configurations, if needed.
We Recently Installed A 12v Water Transfer Pump We use the 12v Water Transfer Pump to move water from a seven foot deep underground water spout pit to our fruit and vegetable garden water tank because our house faucets were a distance from the garden and the water spout pit was near the garden. And, in an emergency situation when electricity is not available and food is not available or scarce or expensive, we can water our gardens as often as needed as vegetables and fruits need water to grow fast and healthy. We use one 12V 35 Ah Sealed Lead Acid Battery with alligator clips to run the 12v water transfer pump, works like a champ for hours upon hours with little or no battery drainage! It appears that a much smaller battery would work as well. Anytime I can move from gas or propane fuel to a battery, I am in, not because I prefer the battery over gas or propane, but because solar will keep on working when gas and propane are no longer available in any significant emergency situation. Nice advantages are that battery energy is quiet and I don't have to spend time to refill fuel tanks or money to purchase fuel. And We Recently Installed A 300w Inverter To Charge And Maintain All 12v Batteries Since my 12v water transfer pump, mowers and other yard power tools, off-road recreation vehicles, and many of my household power tools require some type of batteries that can be recharged and maintained, I installed a 300w inverter and a NOCO GENIUS2 2A 6V and 12V Smart Battery Charger, with alligator clips, in one of my sheds that already had a small solar system installed and is where I now charge and maintain all of my batteries opposed to in my basement using my utility company power. A savings in electricity bill and ability to charge all of my precious batteries in the event of an emergency situation. I am taking full advantage of the solar energy I capture... and I am liking it! We Are Also Considering A Solar Generator A Solar Power Generator with a lithium battery pack was another interesting alternative energy source that is capable of running heavy load appliances too, including an entire home if desired. Solar generators usually include solar panels, a charge controller to charge the built-in batteries, and an inverter. Nice advantages are that it runs silent and indoors (no toxic fumes), no long extension cords, little or no maintenance. Recharging can become a nuisance, but you will have energy to survive. Good for short and long-term emergency plan. For a larger solar generator system to power more devices and appliances is quite simple. Just add a few more panels and a few more add-on batteries and presto! Repeat the process to power even more devices and appliances. So What Can We Say About Solar Energy? We were so impressed with solar energy that we eventually hired a professional solar system installer to install a grid-tied solar system with batteries for our home with the panels installed on our garage rooftop. A grid-tied solar system is connected to the power grid and feeds excess power it generates into the power grid. A grid-tied solar systems acts like a generator. With the flip of a fuse block switch, our electricity source switches from the power grid to our solar power. It happens (and purposely) that our house was built all electric, no gas, propane, or oil. And now, no dependency on gas, propane, oil, or power grid electricity. If you have a significant or moderate savings account, investing in a solar system could be a very smart life decision. If the power grid fails, cash and credit might become useless or not available at all. In the meantime and thereafter, you could benefit financially and personally from the continuous supply of free and reliable energy. As retail prices rise and the supply chain weakens, you might not have the opportunity and options like you do now.> The benefits of a solar system are: self-dependence, self-reliance, lower or no electric bill, and mainly no stress about how to survive in a short-term or long-term power outage or blackout. When the power grid goes down for a few hours or forever, you have uninterrupted continuous electrical power. Now, that's a reason to get up in the morning. |