Prudent Measures: Power

So long as the power comes back on within a few hours or less, most people can deal with the occasional inconvenience of a blackout. In contrast, very few are adequately prepared for anything more. How well would your household fare if power were lost for several days or weeks?

Power outages often occur as consequences of severe weather events such as thunderstorms, floods and winter storms.

If the power goes out, most homes would be without refrigeration. Many homes would not have running water and proper sanitary services. Depending on the season, many homes would also be without heat or air conditioning.

If properly prepared, most families could deal with these inconveniences for a few hours, even a few days. However, some families, especially those with infants, elderly or sick people, may need to leave the home.

Whether you stay or whether you leave your home amid a power disruption, the New York State Department of Health provides a very useful set of checklists and general information on how to prepare for severe weather events and power outages before they happen, when they happen, and after they happen.

Think About This:

If there were an extended disruption in electric power due to an electrical storm or hurricane or some other SHTF event, what would be the most prudent alternate source of power? An automatic standby generator would be ideal however; they can be rather costly starting at around $5,500 for an average single family home. Prudence dictates that the next best thing is to acquire a portable standby generator.

You can find portable generators starting at around $300, which can cover some essential circuits to get you through the darkness. To determine how to select the right generator for the job, you can open this handy reference link to see how much power it takes to run various appliances.

Don’t be left in the Dark, or out in the Cold
This is an interview with Author and editor of SurvivalBlog.com James Wesley Rawles. James is a leading voice in all things related to prepping & survival. In it, Rawles warns that if the North American power grid goes down in a total economic collapse scenario, all bets are off. The resulting catastrophe could lead to the deaths of millions of Americans.

Armageddon aside, to power the essentials and then some, it would take a 10K Watt generator to get the job done right. If you think this is prudent as we do, the next question surrounds the type of fuel the generator runs on.

Gas

Most of the portable generators that you will find are powered by gasoline, which is the least desirable fuel source for several reasons. First, gasoline goes bad overtime. Second, storing sufficient amounts of gasoline can become problematic and hazardous. Third, in a severe regional power outage, gasoline might not be readily available. So what are your other choices?

Propane

Unlike gasoline, propane remains stable for years as long as it is stored properly. 20-pound liquid propane (LP) tanks are readily available and used commonly for outdoor barbeques. Some rural homes run on sizable propane tanks buried under ground.

Natural Gas

In nearly all situations, natural gas lines remain fully functional in a power outage, ranking this fuel choice right up there with propane. If you have natural gas lines to your house, you can run a dedicated gas line to connect to a natural gas generator.

No matter which fuel source you select, you should employ the services of licensed professionals to set up all of the connections for your portable generator.

Below, we list several high-quality sources that we recommend you explore in providing yourself with prudent alternative power sources. How far you wish to take it is up to you, but make sure that you have the basics and then some.

Prudent Measures / Actionable Alternative Power Source Solutions:

This is our first choice. In our view, for around $2k complete, which includes fee’s for natural gas and electrical contractor hook-ups, this 10K Watt Powerland Tri-Fuel generator is the most prudent choice. That’s exactly right, this unit is able to run on gasoline, propane, and natural gas, and powerful enough to nearly power an entire house, which makes it another no-brainer.

Communications Power

If you want to stay in the know during any sort of emergency, check out the varied list of high quality and affordable communications products from Perfectly Prepared.

Survival Gear

From water purification systems to weather meters, peruse a giant inventory of super high quality survival gear from the Camping Gear Outlet.

Flashlights

You can also get your basic supply of Flashlights and Accessories from Camping Gear Outlet.

Coleman Dual Fuel Lantern

Here is a great alternative light source. Coleman’s Dual Fuel Lantern runs on either Coleman fuel or unleaded gas.

Solar Powered Lantern

This solar powered lantern has a backup Hand Crank, 12 LED lights, and is 8.5” tall. It’s waterproof and provides 5-15 hours of lighting per charge. Click here to review all of the product details.

Generators

If you want to shop for a generator to suit your needs, Safer Wholesale has the best products, prices, and selection.

Solar panels

If you have the bucks and want to go nuts, start researching solar as an alternative energy source. Once again, Safer Wholesale is the place to get started once you’ve done your homework.

Windmills/Turbines

If you want all-in to go totally nuts you can set up your own Windmill Wind-Turbine Generator System.

Throughout this website, we refer to the phrase “Prudent Measures” as the most basic, rational, and common sense measures one should adopt if one wishes to secure a minimal level assurance for their family’s essential safety, health, security, finances, and well-being.
Within a modestly planned budget that is within ones means, review and research each of the page tab recommendations and decide for yourself what you would consider necessary and prudent measures for you and your family.

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