Issue #73

Last Update May 20, 2013

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Business and Technology Minimal Emergency Planning for the Family (Part 2) by David Katz September 1, 2012   In the previous article, we gave you a brief overview of emergency planning for the family. In this article, we will deal with a common emergency occurrence: loss of electrical power.  For those living in a private or two-family house (particularly if they have a garage) there are many solutions to a loss of power. An auxiliary generator large enough to power some lights and the refrigerator/freezer (and the pump for the well, if that's how you get your water) is inexpensive. Solar panels on the roof can provide adequate power if there is adequate light. Even a windmill in the back yard could help. For those living in a city apartment, however, the choices are much more limited.

First, city or suburb, what do we need electrical power for during and after an emergency? In order of importance:
o Medical: life-preserving medical devices such as ventilators or air compressors for those with challenged breathing; powered mobility devices; coolers for medications that must be refrigerated.
o Water: for those dependent on pumped well water, a source of electricity is required for drinking and sanitation. Note that if there is flooding, the water many be contaminated and unfit for drinking, but may be acceptable for toilet flushing.
o Food preservation: Powering the refrigerator and freezer can reduce food loss and extend the time one can stay in one's home during the emergency. In conjunction with stockpiled nonperishable foods, powering a freezer for even a few hours a day can help enormously.
o Heating: In a cold climate, electric heaters, or power to control gas or heating-oil furnaces may be a necessity for an extended stay.
o Communications: Landlines are self-powered, but cordless phones are not. Each household should have an old-fashioned, non-powered telephone to enable communications during a power outage. Cell phones, which may work when telephone lines are down, need to be recharged frequently. Internet access also requires power.
o Lighting: perhaps the most dispensable of the powered devices, electric lights are handy but not critical. Many kinds of flashlights, lamps and lanterns are available for use during a blackout.

Whatever kind of electrical backup is decided upon, a word of caution. Since power failure and flooding often go hand in hand, do not store your backup power equipment in your basement or on the floor of your garage. The more elevated your equipment, the better its chances of survival.

If you live in a house, rather than an apartment, it would be good to have your auxiliary power patched into your home's circuitry, so that a cutover is a matter of throwing a switch, rather than snaking extension cords through your house.

In an apartment, power choices are much more limited. Most apartment buildings will not permit you to store and use a gasoline-powered generator, so batteries, hand-cranked devices and solar panels are your only choices. (Some apartment buildings have gas stoves. It is possible that a natural gas-powered generator might be permitted in these places.)

Useful items for apartments:
o Lots of batteries (AA, AAA, C, D, lantern batteries, auxiliary battery-based cell phone and tablet chargers, hearing aid batteries for those that use hearing aids, other medical device batteries).
o Flashlights, lanterns and battery operated radios. There are combination AM/FM/Weather band radios with an included light that can be run by batteries, solar charged or charged by a hand crank. Often the device's battery can be used to charge a cell phone as well. One of these will help with both lighting and communications during the emergency.
o Solar panels that can be placed in windows or on balconies. These come in various sizes and price ranges, from small panels that can charge a cell phone, flashlight, radio or other small device for around $50, to medium sized installations for charging laptops and tablets for $75-$200, to full scale solar panels that can run a refrigerator or freezer for over $1,000. Some charge appliances directly, others charge batteries of various kinds and capacities which in turn can be used to charge batteries, run lights, and even run appliances. A space to store the batteries (particularly large lithium ion or lead acid battery arrays) is required.
o A 12v car cooler for storing a small amount of food or medicine can be used in conjunction with car batteries to provide a few extra days of food storage. A 12v TV can come in handy, too.

When trapped in one's home for a period of time, emergency power can be comforting, and possibly life-saving.