A power outage can leave you in the dark—but that’s not all. Power outages can cause many more problems. Your refrigerator runs on electricity and a power outage means that it will not be able to function anymore, resulting in the freezer section defrosting and food spoiling. If you are living in a region with warm weather, the air-conditioning will cease functioning, and so will the electric fans. In cold areas, the heat could turn off, leaving you vulnerable to frigid temperatures.
Power outages caused by damaged power lines may take a day or two to fix, but outages resulting from storms could take weeks to repair. If power outages occur in the middle of a rainstorm, your sump pump could stop working, causing your home to flood.
Back-up heating
To protect yourself in case of extended power outages, invest in a camping stove or barbecue. This will enable you to continue to cook and eat well until electricity is restored.
Food
If your fridge and freezer lose power, you may find yourself having to throw away hundreds of dollars worth of good food. Use your stove or grill to cook what you can. Eat perishable food first. Beyond that, make sure you have a robust store of non-perishable foods. Once you’ve eaten your perishable food, you can move onto items such as canned meat, soups, fruit, and juice. These foods can be kept for several months without the fear of spoilage.
Generator
You can purchase a generator to run automatically in case of power interruption. A back-up generator can be permanently installed outside your home like an air-conditioning unit. It will automatically kick on when the regular supply of electricity is interrupted, delivering power directly to your electrical system. Depending on the size of the generator, it can back up the entire home or at least most essential appliances.
A back-up generator may be powered by natural gas or petroleum fuel, such as gasoline or diesel. If you get a generator that is powered by natural gas, you don’t need to worry about refuelling because it will be connected to your existing natural gas line.
