powerless day

Comments

Oooh what an excellent idea - that will really make people aware of how much they depend on power in their daily lives.

I have "powerless days" as often as I can - by going and staying in a little cabin in the bush. (One of my favourite places in the world.) Here are some of my thoughts:

Food storage can be a big issue. If anyone has stocks of food in their fridge and/or freezer they will need to find ways to stop it from spoiling. Food to be consumed within 24 hours should be fine in chilly-bins, but of course you need to freeze plenty of ice in advance (especially if you'll be doing this in summer). Rules for good food handling are vital when it's harder to heat or chill food rapidly.

Be very cautious of open flames, especially with children around. It is likely people will be using candles or lamps for lighting, and barbecues for cooking. Matches will be left lying around when they are usually locked away. Make sure children and adults are reminded about fire safety and everybody involved in the project has battery-powered smoke alarms and fire extinguishers in their homes. If one of the purposes of this exercise is a civil-defence style emergency drill, then perhaps you could get a fire safety officer to come and talk to the group in the lead-up to the exercise?

Each house-hold will need to be aware of their own internal power-dependent systems. For example:
- If the power supply is interrupted at the mains, how will their burglar alarms react?
- One house I lived in had a downstairs bathroom below the level of the sewerage system, and relied on an electric pump to come on every time the toilet was flushed or the shower was run! A power cut would mean not using that bathroom.
- Some houses use electric pumps to refill header tanks and/or hot water cylinders. If the power came back on and the hot water cylinder had been run dry, does it have an emergency cut-off?
- Some people need power to manage medical conditions. Talk to the group in advance about their needs.
- Does everyone have an old-fashioned phone as a backup? People who only have cordless phones can be isolated during a blackout.

Please keep us up to date with your plans. I would love to know how it all goes, and how people feel about the whole adventure!

Submitted by Lindis on 17 October 2008 12:45:35

Hi Margaret and welcome to sustainability.govt.nz. Sounds like a cool idea you’ve got planned. I'd be interested to hear why you decided to take this challenge.

As far as suggestions for things go, I think Lindis has covered a number of them. This article provides some really good ideas for how to cope without things like light and heat, but I really think it would be a good idea to figure out how you're going to make sure your food doesn't spoil.

I also think that you should make it into a celebration if you can. Get your friends and family over to discuss the importance of living sustainably and to keep you company with no TV or radio. Also make sure you keep an eye on your power metre to try and measure any savings you've made. Best of luck!

Submitted by Andrew on 21 October 2008 16:41:23

Andrew, that article you linked to was very interesting. They mentioned that few people have easy and immediate access to a torch (flashlight). I would suggest getting one of those tiny torches that fit on your keyring. I have used mine a couple of times when I've been caught in a power cut, just for long enough to find the candles and matches.

Another option of course is the light from your mobile phone. Most people seem to have become so attached to their mobiles in the last few years that they are rarely further than an arm's reach away!

The part about the solar oven was interesting. I think I might try it on my next adventure into the wilderness.

Submitted by Lindis on 22 October 2008 11:10:29

Thanks Lindis and Andrew for your tips and encouragement. If any more occur to you, I'd be glad to have them. Our church, St Heliers Presbyterian, plans to have a powerless 12 hours (homes and church) around the start of Lent in late February. Reason? to make us aware of how dependent we all are on manufactured power, and to promote preparation for a possible blackout. It will give us an appreciation of how a lot (most?) of the world lives.

Submitted by Margaret Williamson on 27 October 2008 20:40:06

I will certainly post here if I think of anything else that might be helpful, Margaret. Which 12 hours will you be choosing for your powerless day? In February lighting is not likely to be such an issue as there will be plenty of daylight hours, but food storage will be more difficult in the heat.

I'm sure it will amaze people (especially children) when they realise how much they take for granted. I remember the last power cut where I realised how many of the things I wanted to do depended on power, so in the end I gave up and thought I'll just make a nice cup of tea and wait for the power to come back on. But at the time I didn't have a barbecue so I couldn't even boil water! D'oh! No tea for me!

Submitted by Lindis on 28 October 2008 15:37:16

Well... this is slightly ironic in retrospect.

Auckland's eastern suburbs have been having power cuts and St Heliers seems to have been the worst hit! I wonder if Margaret and her church group were more prepared than most, having thought about this in advance.

If you read this Margaret, we would be very interested in hearing how you and your team are getting along in the in-voluntary blackouts. Do you think you were more prepared than others in your area? And are you intending to continue with your 12-hour electricity free project?

Submitted by Lindis on 5 February 2009 11:22:37