An energy preparedness framework with affordable options
No one enjoys a power outage.
When it comes to economics and our standard of living — energy is everything.
Our standard of living is tightly integrated with grid supply due to our high energy lifestyles. Even so-called off-grid living still has either a direct or indirect relationship with centralized energy systems. Someone produces and ships off-grid goods and services.
There are multiple adverse scenarios that may affect our energy supply:
Transient power outages.
A localized impairment.
e.g., A storm that damages lines or a raccoon experimenting with its electrical identity.Large scale blackouts / brownouts.
A systemic issue affecting a significant portion of the grid.
e.g., Northeast blackout of 2003 (lasted up to 4 days).Emergency impairments.
A longer term impairment of supply and distribution.
e.g., A cyber attack, major accident, military attack, etc.Affordability.
Inflationary pressures that spill into energy costs.
e.g., 3,000 Britons dying each year because they can't heat their homes
Your individual level of resilience is determined by the amount of preparation, practice and research you do. This is not an easy task. Energy preparedness must be done well in advance of adverse conditions — an emergency is a bad time to plan!
Is there a practical and proven method of organizing resilience levels?
Ranging from nothing to the most rigorous system, household energy management must be practical and satisfy basic needs.
These basic needs are typically modelled using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
This hierarchy helps us to understand the prioritization of service.
However, this is not direct enough to organize household energy resilience.
One proven method — which also happens to be the most rigorous — comes from the nuclear industry, where power impairments can have serious implications.
[The] Fukushima accident, at the Tokyo Electric and Power Co. (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi (“Number One”) plant in northern Japan, became the second worst nuclear accident in the history of nuclear power generation.
Tsunami waves generated by the main shock of the Japan earthquake on March 11, 2011, damaged the backup electrical generators of the plant. Although all three of the plant’s six reactors that were operating were successfully shut down, the power loss caused cooling systems to fail in each of them within the first few days of the disaster.
Rising residual heat within each reactor’s core caused the fuel rods to overheat and partially melt down, leading at times to the release of radiation, and explosions resulting from the buildup of pressurized hydrogen gas occurred in the outer containment buildings enclosing reactors 1 and 3.
— Fukushima accident summary, Encyclopædia Britannica
Backup power is what keeps the unit safe.
There are catastrophic effects without backups!
What are the electrical resilience levels for nuclear power stations?
From the Unit Service Power module:
Class IV.
Systems used for economic and production purposes.Class III.
Systems that can only tolerate short-term power outages.Class I / II.
DC / AC systems, respectively, that cannot tolerate short-term power outages.Emergency Power System (EPS).
Redundant diesel backup for critical safety loads.
In an adverse event, finite resources must be allocated efficiently and effectively. The nuclear power classification system identifies and prioritizes equipment based on safety function and the amount of available resources.
Households obviously do not have the same safety function as a nuclear power station. Most household loads can tolerate short-term power outages with the exception of medical equipment, which likely have battery backups built-in (Class I equivalent).
Similar resilience levels can be modelled for the household.
On-grid.
High power conventional loads.Off-grid.
Self-sufficient power loads with conventional alternatives.Low power.
Short-term power for essential heating, cooking, water and sanitation.Emergency.
Critical power for heath, safety and property damage loads.
A resilience level effectively creates an operation mode, which establishes a design basis to identify and prioritize household loads when grid power is lost.
Operation modes organize household loads into functional groups. These modes build upon each other to create higher standards of service. e.g., Off-grid household operation should be able to transition to an emergency or low power mode if resources are compromised.
Each mode satisfies layers of Maslow’s hierarchy:
Emergency operation mode.
Physiological needs.
Safety needs.
Low power operation mode.
Physiological needs.
Safety needs.
Love and belonging.
Off-grid operation mode.
Physiological needs.
Safety needs.
Love and belonging.
Esteem.
Self-actualization.
On-grid operation simply provides a more efficient satisfaction of needs.
Due to surplus, on-grid operation also supplies many wants disguised as needs.
Emergency operation mode
These are household systems that must have intermittent power for:
Health.
Deteriorating health makes emergency recovery and continued operation more difficult.Safety.
Physical safety is key to maintaining a stable standard of living.Property damage.
Failure of these systems may cause a cascade effect.
For most short-term power outages, avoiding property damage becomes the priority.
Some common examples include:
Fridge / freezer full of food.
Appliances need periodic power to return to food-safe temperatures.Basement sump pumps.
Some houses remove ground water that may otherwise flood the basement.Water pipe temperature.
Water pipes must not be allowed to freeze, which requires emergency heat.
(Or water supply isolation followed by a system drain.)
Keep in mind load sizing.
For electrical loads the unit is watts (W).
Household AC is mostly one voltage (115 V), so it’s really the current (Amps) that matters.For thermal loads the unit is BTU.
Technically this is also watts, which is abbreviated as W(th), but is less commonly used.
It is possible to run fridges and freezers using batteries and inverters1, but it depends.
See How to Run Freezers and Fridges On Inverter and Batteries for more information.
Suggested items to procure:
Generator.2
Must provide the minimum wattage for the largest emergency load.Generator fuel, canisters and stabilizer3.
Enough gasoline or diesel to support an emergency time frame.Kerosene or propane space heater.
Sized for a large enough area to prevent pipes from freezing in the winter.Dedicated extension cords.
Must be long enough to transport power to emergency loads.Flashlights and emergency lighting.
Dedicated emergency flashlights / lighting to facilitate emergency operations.
These needs are usually met by a small gas / diesel generator and a non-electric space heater. General emergency recommendations suggest enough supply for 14 days.
Fuel and resources would need to be carefully rationed to meet this time frame.
Low power operation mode
Low power is an operation mode that focuses on essential amenities, which are made available on an intermittent or short-term basis.
This mode focuses on scarce resource allocation.
Some examples include:
Lighting.
e.g., Battery powered lights or candles.Hot water.
e.g., Heated using canned fuel like butane.Simple entertainment.
e.g., Books, board games, puzzles or crafts when lighting is available.Prepared meals.
e.g., Canned food.
This resilience level is akin to a ‘camping,’ where available resources are rationed.
Items to consider storing:
Butane lighters, cook stoves and fuel.
Butane has a long shelf life, burns clean and are the best lighters.Rechargeable battery powered / USB powered electronics.
Rechargeable batteries and USB devices are interchangeable with the right adapters.Books, board games and puzzles.
Zero energy pass-times, but may require lighting at night.
Heatable canned food.
Store bought canned food or homemade dry canned food that just needs hot water.Cast iron cookware.
A cast iron dutch oven can dual as an oven and frying pan.
Be mindful of using cook stoves indoors. Consider purchasing a battery powered carbon monoxide4 detector as an extra safety precaution.
Consider checking out the Best Emergency Indoor Cooking Stove from Primal Survivor.
Off-grid
Off-grid is a higher operation mode that provides a comparable standard of living to on-grid living, but makes use of limited on-site power through alternatives.
Traditional living methods often replace modern electrical equivalents.
Electrical power and heat is allocated based on their most efficient use.
Off-grid electrical heating is not recommended. The electrical to heat energy conversion ratio is approximately 30% (i.e., 70% of electrical power is wasted to make heat).
Long-term resilience must make use of proven and efficient renewable resources.
Some examples include:
Small solar generation and battery storage.
Fixed or modular solar units provides sustainable power for the equipment’s lifecycle.Wood cook stoves.
These units dual as an in-door stove and heating unit.Rocket stoves and heaters.
A high efficiency stove that can be manufactured from primitive materials.Well water, rain water catchment and cisterns.
Water can be passively / manually supplied without power or through a small solar pump.
The key to a functional off-grid operation is design.
Unfortunately, the variety of off-grid designs is beyond the scope of this article.
There are lots of neat off-grid ideas!
DIY rocket stoves are an easy way to setup an outdoor summer kitchen using minimal resources. The fuel for these stoves is very easy to source and store.
Here is a cool example of a cobb and fire brick rocket stove by GreenShortz DIY.
Portable rocket stoves are also available online:
Cast iron rocket stove.
($129.99 CAD)
Affordable items
This is a short list of affordable items worth considering.
Many of these items use solar power. Some off-grid homesteaders use similar items to satisfy everyday lighting needs.
Most of these devices can be recharged directly through USB interface. The listed batteries can also be adapted to USB. By selecting versatile devices, multiple energy sources can be used to keep these devices running throughout their lifecycle.
Consider having redundant backups when a device needs to be recharged.
Electronic devices
USB rechargeable AA/AAA batteries.
($36.99 CAD)Battery (x4 AA) to USB adapter.
($15.99 CAD)Battery to battery adapter (AAA to AA).
($6.99 CAD)USB light (7W).
($17.99 CAD)Motion sensor nightlight (x3 AAA).
($42.34 CAD)Rechargeable book light.
($16.99 CAD)Emergency weather radio.
($49.99 CAD)
Micro solar generation and storage
Small solar power packs are more affordable and portable then large fixed units. These can power any USB device and provides a reliable energy source for lighting and recharging batteries.
Solar power pack.
($64.99 CAD)
Can be charged via built-in foldable solar panel or USB.
Solar is a slow charge. A wall, car or generator charge is preferred.Built-in flash light.
Easier to turn on than a phone.Can recharge or power any USB device.
Very convenient and versatile.
Example.
This device provides 25000mAh of power. Using the 7W USB light, this power pack can provide a total of 16.5h of continuous lighting. If energy-use is conserved then the power pack can be recharged throughout the day and provide a long-term supply of light.
100 W solar panel.
($389.99 CAD)
Foldable solar panel.
It’s still pretty big folded up (~ 2’x2’), but can easily fit into a closet.Can charge USB devices directly from panel.
This is a versatile design feature ideal for recharging AAA/AA batteries.Can recharge a solar generator through DC output.
Designed for a Jackery portable power unit.
While this panel is designed to charge a solar generator, it provides a USB output that can be used to recharge batteries. Rechargeable batteries can be directly used in devices or placed in USB adapters to supply low power electronics.
500 W power station.
($649.00 CAD)
Jackery units are larger solar power packs. These have an AC power output up to a rated wattage (e.g., the above product supplies 500W devices at 110V). These can recharge laptops, run routers and power small energy efficient fridges.
Concluding remarks
This article focuses on categorizing household power levels based on priority and need. By understanding how critical industrial systems operate, we can re-imagine our homes running in different modes based on available resources.
This technique creates 4 resilience levels used as household operation modes.
Emergency operation mode.
(EPS equivalent)Low power operation mode.
(Class I / II equivalent)Off-grid operation mode.
(Class III equivalent)On-grid operation mode.
(Class IV equivalent)
There are a lot of design options to satisfy this high level framework.
Energy preparedness is something to take seriously, especially as financial, economic and geopolitical tensions escalate. Avoid implementing your resilience plan all at once. Identify emergency loads first and work your way through using actionable tasks.
Extra equipment is not always necessary, because some loads can be designed away.
(e.g., Opt for low power refrigerators and place them in a cool area in the home).
Reaching an off-grid operation mode does require a significant lifestyle change, but the sacrifice is worth it. Our current needs are really glorified wants attached to a need.
Remember, if you are not in need then you are in a position to help someone who is.
An inverter converts DC battery power to AC, but is limited by maximum wattage / current.
A machine that converts fuel into electrical power suitable for household or industrial use.
Stabilizer should be added to gasoline if stored for up to 6 months.
Carbon monoxide is a poisonous and flammable exhaust gas.