Dont be Kept in the Dark

There is almost certainly a power outage or two coming your way this winter - or before - but some forward planning will help you take it all in your stride (and save money).

Loadshedding now theres a word to unite South Africans - even if only in their derision of Eskoms poor planning and lame excuses for its imposition of rolling blackouts. Its also a word that brings a smile to the faces of makers and marketers of generators, solar panels, wind turbines and other alternative energy products. It only took two weeks of rain in the northern pronvinces to bring on an ''electrical emergency" again - supposedly from wet coal - so one can imagine how high demand will be in winter when, we have already been warned, we can count on there being loadshedding.

Which raises the question about what home owners in SA have learned about alternative and hopefully sustainable energy since the dark days of winter 2008 when loadshedding was introduced into our national vocabulary - and what more they could and should be doing now to reduce their carbon footprints and electricity bills as well as their dependence on the Eskom supply. The first two rules of survival during a power outage, the experts say, is not necessarily to buy a portable generator bearing in mind that these use at least 1 litre of diesel or petrol per hour, are noisy and give off noxious fumes. A green option is a photovoltaic kit consisting of a solar panel that is connected to a "deep cycle" battery and then to a currency inverter. This type of system can be used to power three or four lights and your TV and decoder, and to charge your cellphones and tablets.

Other good and instant sources of light are the amazing Consol Solar Jars and the multifunctional LED solar-powered lanterns familiar to campers. You just have to remember to keep them in the sunlight when they're not in use so they can stay charged and are ready when you need them.

The next thing to think about, especially in winter, is keeping warm, and your best options here are gas heaters or wood- or pellet-burning fireplaces/stoves on which you might also be able to boil a kettle and cook a pot of food. The new pellet-fireplaces are fuelled by compressed wood waste and are capable of operating up to 90% efficiency. The pellets come in 15kgs bags which are easy to handle and burn very hot, so there is only a little ash to be cleared each day and is mineral rich so can be used in the garden.

When it comes to cooking (and heating water) your very best option is natural gas, so if you are lucky enough to live where there is a municipal gas network, get hooked up without delay and you'll save a packet by being able to make use of your gas stove and gas geyser all the time and not just when there's a blackout. If you dont have a gas line nearby though you can buy a small gas stove that works on LP gas from stores like OK Furniture, use a biomass cooker or gel-fuel hotplate or, in SA style, make a braai. If the power outage lasts only a couple of hours, as most rolling blackouts do, you should be fine for hot water as the insulation around your geyser should work for around 12 hours. And if you dont open the door to your fridge everything inside it shoud stay cold for around four hours, while your freezer should keep food frozen for at least a day. Consequently it's a good idea to have a supply of nonperishable food on hand (canned, bottled or packaged) for no power days.

then there are few other things that you should check on in preparation for blackouts - an other emergencies - like makng sure your firstaid kit is fully stocked and easily accessible, that your torch is always fulled charged or has fresh batteries, and thta you keep at least one cellphone fully charged. Also make sure your car always has enough fuel in it for a couple of days worth of driving, and that you have some cash put away in a safe place, because neither petrol pumps nor ATMs work when the power is down.

And finally if you have an alarm system, a gate motor or a garage door opener, you should check to see that they have battery back-ups - or plan how you will switch to manual operation and locks if necessary. Its really miserable to be locked out of your property because the power has gone down and your gate wont open, and it can be dangerous too.

Article written by Meg Wilson for the April National Property Junction Magazine