How to survive without electricity

Depending on where you live and how often power outages occur, this can be a simple problem that can be easily fixed. However, there are some steps residents can take to reduce the risk of a power outage and what to do if they know that another outage is likely soon.

Power outages can occur for a variety of reasons, such as a scheduled power outage to repair the power grid, an outage at a power plant, a power line failure due to a storm or other reasons. I guess everyone knows that you can quickly light up the house with a paraffin candle or kerosene lamp and replace watching TV or posting on social networks with reading a book or cleaning the house.
But what about refrigerators or essential appliances that need mains power all the time?

There is a solution, and there are several:

1. Photovoltaic panels.
2. Emergency power supply with batteries.
3. Generator set (generators).

Each of these methods has its pros and cons. Let's take a closer look at them.

Photovoltaic panels are a combination of photovoltaic converters (photovoltaic cells) - semiconductor devices that directly convert the sun's energy into a constant current of electricity, as opposed to solar panels that generate heat from a heat carrier material.
In simple terms, photovoltaic panels are what can generate electricity from the sun's rays. It is one of the most popular forms of renewable energy today. It is used not only in private homes, but also in large factories. However, not everything is so simple...

First of all - one photovoltaic panel is not able to generate enough electricity to power a household consumer. To provide power to at least a refrigerator - photovoltaic panels should be several (depending on the consumed power of the refrigerator and the generated power of photovoltaic panels). This leads to a more expensive installation and the need to install more panels.
Secondly - photovoltaic panels work at full power only when the weather is nice and the sun is well visible. As soon as clouds cover the sun then photovoltaic panels generate much less energy. And what about at night? Then photovoltaic panels do not produce energy at all.
Thirdly - in order to fully enjoy the energy generated from photovoltaic panels, we need to have an inverter, which converts direct current to alternating current for the home grid, which in turn also increases the cost of installation.

If we compare the advantages and disadvantages of photovoltaic installation, we get this summary:

Benefits:
Free source of renewable energy.

Disadvantages:
- Cost of installation.
- The need for good weather conditions.
- Installation of photovoltaic panels takes up a lot of space.

An electric battery is a reusable secondary chemical power source that can be recharged when discharged. Again, in simple terms, a battery is a device that can store energy for a long time and can be used when needed. At the same time, once the battery is discharged, it can be easily recharged for later use. This would seem to be the ideal solution when the house runs out of power, but there are nuances.

First, a single battery, even a high-powered one, will not be able to power the main consumers in the house. To do this, you need more batteries; the more you have, the longer they will be able to maintain the energy security of your home.
Secondly, in order for the energy stored in the batteries to be able to be used to power the house, as with photovoltaic panels, we need a DC to AC 220V inverter. Depending on the energy consumption (in the case of a house, it is not a small demand), we will need a high-capacity inverter, which also increases the cost of the installation with batteries.
Third, in the event of a prolonged power outage, the batteries will be discharged and your home will be left without electricity.

In summary, the conclusions are as follows:

Benefits:
Home power bank, ready to operate at any time.
Ability to reuse batteries for a long time.

Disadvantages:
- If a lot of power or a long time on battery power is required - a large number of batteries are needed (resulting in high installation costs)
- Batteries spontaneously discharge over a long period of time and need to be recharged after some time.
- Batteries have a charge/discharge cycle of about ~2000 cycles.
- If there are long power outages from the grid and the batteries are used, they will be discharged and there will be nothing to draw power from.

Note: The best option is a combination of photovoltaic panels and batteries, which will allow to maintain internal power supply to the house before a long period of time without the need for external power. Unfortunately, the cost of such an installation is huge, and it is unclear whether the installation would pay for itself in many decades.

Generators are compact, self-contained power generation units. Gasoline gensets typically use air-cooled, two-stroke or four-stroke internal combustion engines with 3000 rpm (sometimes 6000 rpm). Engines are also available with top or bottom valves.
Generators also vary in power output. The higher the power output, the larger the generator will be. When choosing a generator for home or camping, it is worth paying attention to this.

So what are the nuances of generators?
First of all, to generate electricity for the whole house, we need a high-powered generator. A high-powered generator does not cost cheaply either, but it is cheaper than the option with the installation of photovoltaic panels or installation with batteries.
Secondly, a high-powered generator for a house will take up space and produce exhaust fumes and noise. For this purpose, it is desirable to have a small annex to the house (preferably with noise attenuation), where the electric genset will work at all times.
Third, in the event of a power failure from the local power grid, the genset will not turn on by itself and produce electricity. It will have to be started manually and connected to the grid at home.

And so after listing all the pros and cons - let's highlight the most important ones.

Benefits:
Price. Generators cost much less than installing photovoltaic panels or batteries. You can even buy an inexpensive generator to power essential electrical appliances at home.
Mobility. Most gensets are not particularly large, with the ability to move (the presence of wheels), which allows you to take it even on a camping trip outside the city.
To work, the genset needs fuel, which you can easily buy at a gas station at any time or simply store in canisters at your home.
Long life with regular maintenance.

Disadvantages:
- Price. While the price is on the plus side, it can also be put on the minus side, and here's why - with a fully electrified house, with normal use of all appliances as usual, you need a high-powered generator, which will cost more.
- The need to have fuel in stock for the generator.
- Noise and CO2. A generator set generates noise and exhaust fumes during operation.

Therefore, we did not find more downsides. The pluses of generators are much more than any other source of emergency power at home.

After considering all the options for emergency power at home or in a vacation home, our team of engineers at Batna24 saw the best solution in generators. We developed and manufactured a line of generators under our own Extralink brand.
We took into account all the weaknesses and refueling capabilities of other manufacturers' generators and designed several models of reliable generators. They differ from each other in performance and the type of fuel consumed.
Below is a brief specification of Extralink EGP-3000 and EGP-5500 gasoline generators:

However, given that the cost of gasoline is very volatile and it is not always possible to store it at home, we have thought about and developed generator models with a hybrid fuel system that allows the connection of natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas(CNG or LPG). This means that the generator can be easily connected to a gas cylinder or to the home gas network. This, in turn, reduces fuel costs, and interruptions to the CNG supply to the home are extremely rare, allowing the genset to run for extended periods of time until the local electricity supply is restored.

Below is a brief specification of the hybrid generators EGH-3000 i EGH-5500:

For the most demanding people who would not be satisfied with the power from our units, we have also designed a more powerful 7kW hybrid unit (EGH-7000), which will soon be available in our offer.

We can't say directly what type of emergency power supply is best to implement for a home electrical system, as this is an individual matter for each home and wallet. However, after listing the advantages and disadvantages of all types of emergency power, we have come to the conclusion that generators are the best option in terms of value for money and performance. It is also worth mentioning that a generator can not only stand by your house and wait "for its time", but can be used every time you go on vacation with your family to the woods or to the lake.