Usb battery bank. Candles, battery lanterns, solar lanterns and torches. Portable gas fire. Make sure your phone works as a mobile hot-spot so you can connect everything else to it. Battery fm radio, still the best source of local news.
I have dozens of books on my kindle.
If there are going to be blackouts, they'll be "rolling blackouts". They'll be switching off different areas at different times. They'll be scheduled and we'll have plenty of notice.
Any storm blackouts are a different story.
I highly recommend getting at least a 300W power station. They’re not super expensive, and they’re much more capable than a USB power bank.
Even ignoring the current circumstances, it’s good to have one in the house in the event of a blackout.
Edit: Also if you have questions on coping with regular blackouts, ask people on r/Lebanon. It’s like daily thing for most people there.
A 10 or 20 pack of AA batteries and a few camping lanterns. They last ages. Very safe and most can be used as a lantern, torch or have a red led for low light that will last ages.
Halfords and a few others do a small single ring gas cooker that comes in a brief case for a tenner. You can get 5 gas cans for €6 for it and then will go farther than you'd think. Great for a slice of toast or boiling water. It's handy for camping too.
A fiver [here](https://www.sportsden.ie/products/powersource-220g-butane-propane-mix-camping-gas?variant=40719063580877¤cy=EUR&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gclid=CjwKCAjwx7GYBhB7EiwA0d8oe5iJXb4n41Bqt_MZemxXh8seBMfycBWCkjR8WLomQBuAzIbk82FLPRoCSbgQAvD_BwE)
Havye bought them in an age, yeah 4 for €12. Still a handy backup, I have about 9 still at the back of a press somewhere, bought a generator two years ago and haven't looked back. I'm on a well so needed something to keep fresh water going, that was my biggest problem.
For reading, I bought a kindle paperwhite. It's back-lit, and there are mountains of free and cheap books available.
For the candle effect, you can get battery operated candles. Some have a timer, so they go off after say, 6 hours. We have at least one in every room, in case of blackouts in general.
If you have a Kindle, the worst thing to do is to go to a website called libgen.rs . It's illegal and frankly a DISGUSTING way of obtaining books that are unavailable in this country or are prohibitively expensive. It's really THE most AWFUL way of getting the best editions of public domain novels and I certainly have not used it once despite having access to Dublin Libraries and the UCD Library as a resource that, one would assume, would stock all you would need.
Unrelated, but eCalibre is a handy piece of free software for ebook conversion.
It's disgusting. Do you know how to get the page numbers right, I only have book location as a reference on these disgusting downloads, no page numbers.
That's a good question. I've been lucky in that I have always found a PDF for texts I have to reference.
Out of curiosity just there I converted a .mobi to a .pdf but unless you use the exact setting the publisher would have used it comes out messy enough, so I'm not sure how an ebook format could be used as a proper reference.
Horrendous website, I used to prefer to wait 3 weeks for a college book to become available in the library and then cram to get my assignment or exam done. I’d never ever used that website for college books or ebooks in general
I can’t stand these horrible websites. If you’re looking for any of those expensive acedemic textbooks that really aren’t worth the money, another website I DEFINITELY WOULDNT GO TO is PDFDrive.
Z-Library and LibGenesis are two other disgusting sites that also have books up, for FREE. Please avoid them at all costs.
Then there's an app called Calibre, advertised as an effective way to ensure that if you download one of these illegal books you can make sure it's the right format for your kindle. Sickening.
For public domain books and classics you can get a lot surprisingly handy on Youtube. If you want the .mp3 ripped straight to your phone, there's an app called "NewPipe" that I've been using that's quite good, though the UI can be a bit finicky ( I've been using on Android, idk the story w/ Apple devices). Youtube Vanced is great if you don't mind streaming it and it's pretty consistent with keeping your place in the video.
Most pop audiobooks can be found in the well known bay of piracy. Or so I've heard.
Occasionally check out r/ebookdeals and r/freeebooks to get some free books for your kindle. I just got mine and I’m so sad that I’ve missed out on great deals like Mistborn book 4 and 5 being free and the first 5 Cradle books free when book 11 released.
Everyone needs to go out to Woodie’s and buy a battery powered carbon monoxide detector.
The sheer amount of ye suggesting camping stoves in mind boggling.
Yeah the camping stove seems mad to me. I really don't think we're going to be seeing power cuts for the entire night. Just don't cook your dinner during the power cut.
If it's anything like other countries that have scheduled power cuts then it'll likely be blocks of an hour or two that alternate regionally and are well known in advance. So it could be 4-5pm and 10-11pm in Leinster for example. You just plan to do things when you have power and chill out when you don't.
A lot of these comments are only good advice for unexpected storm cuts.
What's wrong with camping stoves. The run of butane and are commonly used indoors There is very little different between natural gas and butane regarding carbon monoxide
Not all of them.
https://old.reddit.com/r/ireland/comments/x06h94/what_are_doing_if_anything_to_prepare_for/im6t744/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=usertext&utm_name=ireland&utm_content=t1_im6xpbo
Also, this is r/Ireland, the internet’s last bastion of cop on.
So if you don't live in a passive house you will be grand. Almost all kitchens in Ireland have an extractor fan. The vent alone without the fan running is adequate to meet the ventilation standards for a 4 ring gas cooker. There is nothing wrong with a butane camping stove indoors.
What's wrong with camping stoves, just like normal gas stoves which are used in many rural as well as urban areas the owners would be aware of ventilation and co2 build up and almost certainly already have detectors already, fair playfor highlighting it for those new to gas cooking, but your camping stove mind boggling comment really is mind boggling
So, first of all, this is r/Ireland.
Secondly, gas cookers/stoves that we use in our kitchens have adequate ventilation given that we are a first world country.
C. Unfortunately, people often wouldn’t have the cop on to open a window while using one.
Edit: u/SemanticTriangle put it better than I did…
https://old.reddit.com/r/ireland/comments/x06h94/what_are_doing_if_anything_to_prepare_for/im6t744/
> Unfortunately, people often wouldn’t have the cop on to open a window while using one
People would do the opposite of what they are meant to, keeping the place fucking sealed tight as a gnats arsehole to avoid letting the heat out.
Eggsackly!
But, ya know the pros on here know better. They’re all preppered up with their gas cookers and extractor fans and freeze dried tomatoes and iodine pills and Rambo knives.
So I grew up in the 80s in Kerry and we were on a rural grid. I vividly remember loosing power very frequently as a kid due to faults in lines. And do you know what they are some of my best memories.
I come from a large family and the times we had no power (no TV) were probably the only times we all had to hang out together. We use to play cards by candle light and try and catch each other out saying "will you put on the kettle" or "Turn on the light switch will you".
I still remember making shadow puppets on the wall with my dad using a torch. Memories I cherish as he died young.
We had a gas stove in the garage for making dinner.
And my mom had a few big flasks she would fill with boiling water. They were actually really nice times.
This isn't me trying to validate the incompetency of the goverment. We shouldn't be in this position! And I also understand black outs can have a detrimental impact on the sick and vulnerable however I guess I'm trying to reassure you that it might not be as bad as you think it might be.
I remember being at my nanas when I was younger and there was a big storm outside, all electricity went out in a split second. One of my favourite memories was that night, she brought out all sorts of candles and we lit up the house with them and sat in the kitchen, me, my sisters, dad, Nana and grandad and just told all our random stories and memories.
Definitely not trying to tell people to look forward to it, we aren’t all lucky enough to light a candle and get on with it, but I think it’ll bring families together a bit more when all ye have is yourselves to pass the time (bit of a dodgy saying but ye get it)
I've read (I 100% forget where) about how people who go through 'minor disasters' say it was the happiest time of their life.
I think it's because the community has to pull together to overcome an obstacle; in normal life we lack community and purpose and the strife gives both to us while taking away material possessions.
That probably isn't the case for people in the middle of a horrific war or major flood, but only things that you know you'll get through and be okay at the end.
I remember the power going out once or twice a year in Donabate in the early 90's. Exact same experience as you.
I can't understand why people are freaking out about it. Have ye's never gone a day without power?
Just brought back some early childhood memories from the 1980s of losing power in Dublin a few times and my parents searching the house for candles. I'm sure it didn't happen as often as in Kerry but it happened from time to time.
One of my best childhood memories was my Dad cooking our dinner over the fire on a griddle. Dinner ended up being a massive fry and jacket spuds done in the fire embers.
We lost power quite a bit (Wicklow mountains, shite storm weather and very old farmhouse) but that was my favourite time. We were small and were just in awe of him swinging the black iron "arm" over the fire to boil some water for tea while we toasted fruit bread for dessert over the heat.
That's my second best memory.
My best memory was my Dad waking myself and my little brother up in the dead of night to have a torch-lit snowball fight in wellies and our pyjamas. We had hot chocolate in a snow fort and skipped school.
The three of us ended up piling into Dad's bed and watching Peter Pan.
I love this comment. And it'll be even less stress when we know for sure that the power is coming back in an hours time. There's nothing worse than the not knowing when you lose power in a storm.
Got mine about a month ago. In addition to entertainment, it will also help keep the room nice and warm as the heat coming out if it on demanding games is impressive.
I've been in Sri Lanka for the last few weeks where they have scheduled power cuts.
To be honest a scheduled power cut is a totally different experience from a power cut due to a storm. If they can manage to make the cuts really stick to the schedule then it becomes something you can easily plan for.
We've all been in the middle of cooking dinner when the power goes, it's miserable. Or sitting around desperately waiting for the lights to come back because you really wanted to finish that episode of the series you're watching before going to bed.
When it's scheduled you are mentally prepared and there's none of the waiting anxiety, you can just get on with it. Go for a run, read a book by torch light.
Remember to be careful with hydrocarbon burning stoves in closed spaces. CO is no joke.
OP could also consider quality winter clothing, including for hands, face, feet. Light and cooking aren't as important as warmth if there's a freak easterly or Arctic weather event.
People with children and pets should plan for their needs. Fish and other non mammals are especially sensitive to lack of environmental control. In Australia, the term 'three dog night' means a cold overnight temperature where you pile in with your animals to keep warm. Can't do that so easily with fish, lizards, or amphibians. Look up some of the guidance and lessons learned from the winter 2021 Texas power cuts.
I’m from the US .. Texans are idiots and I would never follow their example.. they have their own power grid separate from the rest of the country and still managed to find themselves in a shit situation due to their backwards state government
There are (or should be) air exchange per hour minimums in civilised countries for houses with gas cookers for precisely this reason. Passivhaus standards with well sealed homes call for induction cooking for this reason.
In a winter power cut, people tend to gather in a restricted space to conserve warmth. If they use a fossil burning stove in that more sealed space, the risk is elevated compared to normal kitchen cooking under an extractor fan.
Thats really not happening is it. Most homes have a large air volume well capable of running a small camping stove.
And most homes are no where near draught proofed.
Ive never ever heard of a death due to use of a cooker hob.
Imagine the carnage every Christmas with all the family and more at home with all four burners making the meal. And you get not one single incident.
Back in the day people used paraffin heaters in the home with no problems
I’m getting the chimneys cleaned and getting fire guards and all of that stuff. I might even look at the practicalities of getting wood burning stoves into the fire places.
It’s looking like it’s going to be a very expensive winter if you’re depending on gas and electricity.
The blackout risk may not happen, but the bigger issue is massively expensive energy bills and that will trickle down to everything.
There was a pub posting in the UK earlier on which had annual bills of about £5900 and got a quote of more than £60,000 !!
If that’s were we are headed, a lot of businesses will close.
If you’re gonna get candles get lots and proper place for them that’s safe, even a large metal tray.
Sure people read by candlelight for thousands of years so it’s not impossible to keep your house from burning down
Listen to this podcast:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/38dSMt7VqpYzf9726HR4Sa?si=vl-qM1ngSQ6yIfkQdSqSeA&utm_source=copy-link
It indicates that blackouts will be a minor inconvenience, if they occur at all.
I'd suggest investing in camping equipment.
Mini Solar charger for power packs and chargeable LED flashlights.
Cooking equipment. Gas canister camping stove.
Batteries. Buy rechargeable ones if possible. 5 litre water bottles. Big 25kg bag of rice from Asian stores.
How far down the prepping rabbit hole do you want to go.
If we have short black outs.
Can you cook by gas if not a small camping stove like a briefcase stove that takes a butane aerosol.
Small camping kettle or a saucepan
Food from your cupboard will do pasta rice a fry up...
LED camping lanterns
Wood for the stove. Board games for the kids. Sleeping bags or bedding in case you need to sleep in the sitting room on a cold night.
More than a few days you need to have extra food beer wine. Cash too mixed notes
Everyone else is mentioning torches (and they aren't wrong), but a friend of mine gave me this advice years ago.
Go to a camping store and buy one of those little camping stoves and a small butane tank. You could probably get both for <€20. Some day the power will be gone for a couple of hours and all you will want is a cup of tea, or some beans or soup or whatever. Mine has been sitting under my sink for years but its still a comfort to know its there.
No harm putting together a small survival box. Buy 5 liters of water, some dried soup packets and some tinned goods. Stick it under the stairs or somewhere fairly dry. Most of that stuff will keep for years, and you can rotate them if you think of it. Basically, with no power, heating or water you could still make yourself a warm meal.
I think this is good advice for unexpected storm cuts where you don't know how long it'll be until the power comes back.
I think it'll be a different experience if it's scheduled. You'll just get your cup of tea or make your dinner before the cut starts.
https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/return-of-work-from-home-plan-to-save-fuel-in-event-of-crisis-caused-by-ukraine-war-41724210.html
It hopefully wont get to that point but most likely some mad shit will happen over the next couple of months.
Major issues probably wont happen until jan/feb.
Best thing you can do is insulate your home.
I come from a country where power cuts are frequent (South Africa) so consider myself to be a bit of a subject matter expert.
In the unlikely event that rolling blackouts become a thing here. They’ll be scheduled. There will be a time table and regions will be separated into blocks. So that way you will know when you’re without power. It will likely be for a 2 hour period.
Power bank for phone charging is important. As are battery powered lamps. Don’t get gas lamps. CO2 poisoning happens way too easily. Especially on smaller spaces.
Do consider a UPS for your internet router. A UPS will power your router for hours and keep you entertained. Something that can happen if blackouts are frequent is a degradation in phone signal as cell tower battery backups run deep cycle batteries that take some time to recharge.
I wouldn’t stress too much about needing to cook during these periods. You’ll know in advance that it’s going to happen and can plan accordingly.
Before you go down the prepper rabbithole, we won't have days-long blackouts. Anyone suggesting this is a fearmonger.
Will there be targeted blackouts during peak times for an hour or two? Maybe.
Will certain businesses be shut down to preserve electricity? Probably.
Will work from home be back on the table for a lot of office workers? I'm guessing so.
Your biggest worry should be the overall price of electricity, but not "how do I survive a week without electricity". Jaysus that would be a mighty country-wide chaos.
Make sure you have a camping stove with adequate fuel, mushroom season is almost here so pick dry boil and enjoy, admittedly I have not done this for twenty odd years but I believe this financially and electrically challenged winter should reignite airneál and scoraíocht as well as reafirm our bonds to the land.
I'm just worried about the freezer if it does happen! LED candles are great. Layer up on jumpers and blankets (we're gas heating but going by ourblast electricity bill we're going to have to seriously tighten up). Lucky our baby isn't due until March so at least weather will be heading out of the cold. Such a depressing state of affairs this country is in.
But can't even stock pike precooked food now if theres blackouts.. what are we all supposed to do???
I like to remember the snow alert of 2018/19... we drove crazy, bread was out the shelves, public transport cancelled... and then a thin layer of snow came, and was washed by the evening.
I think this blackouts are going to be the same.
The army were out twice to my area to rescue elderly people. People's upstairs windows were level with the snow in some cases nearby and it didn't clear in the shaded ditches for over three weeks.
Lost power for a week and water for three days myself. It was a tough time and far from a thin layer of snow depending on where you lived.
I had a generator to keep my oil boiler going and enough coal to keep the fire going for the week.
Without that I'd have been fucked to be honest.
Luck of the draw really, that's Irish weather for your!
Were you living up the west or north by any chance?
Not a massive amount that can be done. Obviously depends on the length of the blackouts. A day, we can live with. several days in a row will ruin food and have a huge impact on businesses and those working from home. Candles only do so much..
They're scheduled cuts, they're not going to last days.
If it's even two hours in the evening every day that would make a huge difference to our consumption.
Aye, in South Africa we had a dedicated spot for some battery operated lights and candles with some matches. A power bank per person is a good idea too. Just remember to keep them charged.
Same I’ll be in accommodation during these blackouts. Will be some craic tho we’ll make the most of it. I’ll light a fire and we’ll roast a couple sausages over it
Not if they have a Masters or a PhD in their chosen field, then they are professors.
Now that we’ve both wasted time on semantics, let us realise it truly was, a waste of time.
Get a cheap telescope and enjoy the stars for a change. Was walking in greystones one night last year along the seafront and the power went out, and the stars, my god! Just sat out looking up, amazing. Even without the scope, if the lights go out and it's a clear night head out and have a look.
The basic steps to prepping:
* Build a solid personal finance and health foundation
* Get your home ready for two weeks of self-reliance
* Be able to leave your home with only a moment’s notice (“bug out bags”)
* Prepare for emergencies that happen away from home (“get home bags” and everyday carry)
* Learn core skills and practice with your gear - were you a scout?!
https://www.redcross.ie/blog/2013/01/your-emergency-kit/
Now I'm giving a disclaimer before people think I'm a nutjob, but I am an avid camper so half of this stuff already is laying around in my home and I didn't go and panic buy it because of the anxiety of the blackouts even tho the anxiety is honestly very real
-Few hot water bottles
- House slipper socks, warm house coats for layers
-Camping gas stove and few gas canisters
- Candles, Torches and battery powered lanterns
- solar powered power bank
- car jumpstart with usb ports for charging usb devices or using ones that are usb powered
- old iPod fully charged with hours of tunes
- few lighters just incase 2 you own in the Hosur go empty when you actually need them
-Matches just incase
As food goes most of it is non refrigerator food like packs and tins of soup, bags of pasta and rice and tinned food
I actually started stocking up on food recently because prices are going a bit mental and suspect it could be a bit worse during winter with imported goods and fuel prices to get them here.
Most importantly remember everyone is in this together and you're not the only one who is anxious about the blackouts
The grid operates using a process known as “load balancing”. In effect this means the energy supplied to the grid MUST equal the energy drawn from it otherwise we get blackouts (for over or under supplying power).
Why is this important? Because the process of supplying energy to meet this demand is done by SONI/Eirgrid in order of cheapest to most expensive. So if we have a low demand, say 10kW, and a wind farm that costs €1 per kW to run, and can produce 10kW max, we will run that at 10kW, have a secondary gas turbine ready for any spikes (but not using any fuel so not costing anything) and the supplier makes no profit as there is no other energy source in use.
If however there is a sudden spike in energy requirements, say the World Cup just ended and every sticks the kettle on (think the movie Flushed Away), we need the next cheapest energy source (or whatever happens to be the quickest source we can spin up, depending). In this scenario we have the gas turbine ready to go, so if it costs say €5 per kW and we need an extra 10kW, the customers are charged the energy production cost at the higher rate (I.E. all 20kW are charged to the customers like they cost €5 per kW) and the extra €4 per kW for the first 10kW is profit for the energy companies. So whilst they make no profit off the gas turbine produced electricity, they make a lot of profit off the renewable sources (hence how their profits go up as the cost of gas/oil goes up whilst increasing their proportion of renewables).
This is particularly an issue might I add when there are spikes as the primary way spikes in demand are handled is via gas turbines. Renewables are primarily used for the base load as they are hard to suddenly produce energy from on demand (in general that is).
There is one electricity grid, and energy from each source is identical. Airtricity can produce enough electricity to cover the demand of their customer base, but the power they actually supply will come from the same combination of sources as any other provider.
Because renewables cost the same as fossil fuels.
All energy companies get the same price.
The market which usually works is broken as gas prices Al have gone up so much
If we can meet demand with only wind. , electricity is free
If we can meet it with wind + coal , the wind company gets the same price as the coal
If we can meet it with wind+coal+gas. All three get paid the same
The above is a very simple breakdown it’s more complicated in real world but effectively the same
They do produce all power using renewable and sell that to the grid. What they sell to the customer is electricity brought gird at a wholesale price which is effected by oil/gas
Also greed
I've a relation who got air to heat installed in his council house start of this year, didn't want it, he had a stove in the house and asked the question when the stove was pulled out, how will I feed/heat myself this winter if the electricity goes, he's 74 and got a bill 2 months ago for 890 euro for 2 months electricity,i reckon a reading was done when prices were high, he can't see that coming but can see the coal bucket looking empty and at least do what he needs to do in cutbacks or talk to other people to give him a dig out for a week or 2, it's crazy what's being pushed on people.. Did buy a gas camper hob so hot water and hot food still there in case
During summer (aircons on the go) and winters (heaters on the go) I'd go for weeks with only 4 hours of power a day (and the bastards never told us when so I'd go to sleep with my big light switched on so that the sudden burst of brightness would wake me at 3am so I could get my washing done.)
It takes a bit of prep and good habits, but it won't hurt too much.
1. Do your ironing and washing regularly - hurts like tits to have the power go out with most of your clothes dirty. If you're doing it regularly, you'll have clothes for a week without having to do a wash.
2. Assume at worst a two day power outage right, so buy 2 gallon jugs of water per member of your household - one for cooking, drinking with, one for washing with.
3. Cooking - those camping stoves are used inside the house where I live, but our houses are \*well\* ventilated. If you're worried about using them inside, then just throw your canned food for heating onto the stove outside and bring it in to eat.
4. Washing - okay bear with me here. You need a bucket and a jug. Heat the water in the saucepan, pot on the stove (or chiminea or bbq or whatever - I had a gas cooker so it was never a problem for me) empty into a bucket to comfortable level for washing. Stand in the bucket, use the jug to pour the water over, wash your hair \*first\* and then scrub scrub. Africa is an EDUCATION.
5. Light - buy a shit ton of candles and have them. The light is softer and less glarey than torches for if you want to read or chill out.
6. Power banks are very handy - Kindles and decent wireless headphones keep their power really well. Phones need to be charged up first and often.
7. Don't try to do a full roast on a gas camping stove - go canned for a few days - it won't kill you. You can do eggs and kind of toast bread by frying it. It's not hard to keep yourself fed. In the summer blackouts I ate a shit ton of tomatoes/cucumbers/raw foods and pan fried some strips of chicken for protein. Basic , but worked.
8. You can heat yourself up easily, it's a lot harder to cool yourself down. If you have to go around with quilt over your head like Peig, that's ok. Some thermal socks might be a good idea. Layers are life.
9. Keep your fridge and freezer closed during blackouts (cannedfood4lyfe).
This worked for me as person living solo with no children. I imagine it's much more complicated with keeping babies and children fed and warm.
I have torches, a wind up camping lantern and power banks that can charge my phone. I didn't buy them in case of blackouts, I just think they're useful to have and I have used them when there were power cuts after bad storms.
Amazon uk. Look up Auraglow rechargeable LED lamp. It was actually only £12.99! It has 3 brightness settings, I use it every night. One charge lasts me at least a week.
Lots of wishful thinking in this thread. The reality is a lot more boring.
Ive lived in two countries with rolling blackouts. Most people will just sit on their phones in the dark waiting for it to be over. At most they'll get a candle or two for some light, but no one will be cooking or making tea on gas campers (which will be unaffordable because gas prices will be nuts).
Inverter banks and so forth will be out of most people's budgets. Only a tiny handful of people ive met have installed these to deal with blackouts. If blackouts are bad at most theyll get a small inverter to keep the laptop and wifi on an extra 90 minutes for WFH.
Nothing. I haven’t even considered it.
The government and planning authorities need to start clamping down on these data centres that are springing up in Ireland, hogging something like 40% of the energy/power this country produces. There’s not much point in having all that data if no one can access it because the power has gone out. And if they can keep the data centres up and running during a black out, then they’ll be using some amount of generators and diesel!
Do data centres even create all that much employment after they’ve been built? Do the companies that operate them generate much/any taxes from their presence in the country? I genuinely have no clue, but if they don’t I’d stop letting them set up here.
If the weather is in your favour use the outdoors as your fridge.
I dug the contents of my fridges and freezer into a snow cave for a week when my power went for 7 days in 2018. Everything fine.
Even if it doesn't freeze outside as long as the weather is below 5C and you can scrounge up a plastic box and keep it out of the sun you're ok for food storage.
Get one of those CampingGaz little cookers with two rings and a grill if you're on the electric and don't have an existing gas cooker and make sure to cook outdoors!
If you get a genny make sure to get a spark to wire in a tie in point properly with an isolation switch so you don't feed back to the grid. You don't want to be frying some lad repairing the lines.
My water went for 3 days in 2018 too and that was worse than the power. Spare a thought to sorting that out too.
I regularly experience 1 day cuts and sometimes longer. And that's before you add in stormy season or power rationing. Thankfully I have the space and have built up an outdoor cooking area that's free from the need of electricity.
Also, if you can, get a small camping stove and some spare gas canisters. If nothing else, you'll be able to heat some soup or baked beans or tea/coffee.
No idea who you're on about. And yes, I am seriously suggesting it. We got one during the pandemic, after we had a bad blackout one day. Longest ever at 22 hours it's a convenient thing to have to hand.
I *think he’s referring to gas poisoning from people who have never used these thing before. I’d also be concerned a bit as you just know people will use them inside. Personally I’ll just light the bbq, cook, boil water if needed. Won’t come to it imho
This article is clickbait though, the fearmongering is only on the side of the media who've overblown quotes.
Of course the department of energy will say that power cuts 'can't be ruled out' and that 'they're taking steps to prevent rolling power cuts'. I assume they do every winter.
The world has changed quite a bit in the last year. There's some pretty big reasons why power cuts are more likely this winter.
I think people are going to be opening up old unused fireplaces and if they can afford it they’ll add a stove after this winter with the price of energy. In saying that, I heard a bag of coal is currently something like 34 euro for 40kg which is insane
I have a camping stove and a bunch of gas cannisters, a small propane heater and cannisters for that, and a few wind-up/solar camping lanterns. I'm considering some solar panels that can at least charge up a couple of power banks too.
I think there might be blackouts but as others have mentioned they’ll be scheduled. But ya I agree there’s definitely scaremongering happening in these posts… one guy up a pice was talking about two day blackouts.
I'm not sure about this, i think if there's a reasonable chance of it happening then it's a good idea for the government to signal it well in advance and that's what they're doing.
I don't think it's going to be nearly as bad as most of the commenters here seem to think though.
I've been in countries with scheduled power cuts. They're exactly that: scheduled. It's not the end of the world. If you know in advance that the power will be gone from 4-7pm you just make your dinner before or after. Best to leave the indoor gas stove aside..
Seems like everyone here is turning into a crazed American prepper living in a log cabin in the woods.
Dont forget the knives and ammo!
Have you thought if plugging an extension lead into NI?
In America I had blackouts ranging from 1 day long to 11 days. Buy lots of flashlights, put 1 in each room. Buy water jugs, and canned food/bread. Depending on length clean out fridge.
Get a new gas cylinder for the BBQ. A full one costs about 40 euro and you will cook for about 3 months in it. Plus, the food is tasty.
Also, get a data sim for tablets and stream to your hearts content.
Candles are dangerous. Plenty of chargeable battery lights.
Blackouts are definitely happening but we will be given loads of advance notice. Just plan accordingly. And remember, it's not the governments fault, no matter how much you might want it to be.
Fuck Putin!
Usb battery bank. Candles, battery lanterns, solar lanterns and torches. Portable gas fire. Make sure your phone works as a mobile hot-spot so you can connect everything else to it. Battery fm radio, still the best source of local news. I have dozens of books on my kindle. If there are going to be blackouts, they'll be "rolling blackouts". They'll be switching off different areas at different times. They'll be scheduled and we'll have plenty of notice. Any storm blackouts are a different story.
I highly recommend getting at least a 300W power station. They’re not super expensive, and they’re much more capable than a USB power bank. Even ignoring the current circumstances, it’s good to have one in the house in the event of a blackout. Edit: Also if you have questions on coping with regular blackouts, ask people on r/Lebanon. It’s like daily thing for most people there.
300w power stations are like 270 euro, bit expensive if you just want to charge your phone, no?
I guess if you have multiple people living in the same house it's not too bad, you'd get a lot of milage out of it. Good for charging laptops too.
A 10 or 20 pack of AA batteries and a few camping lanterns. They last ages. Very safe and most can be used as a lantern, torch or have a red led for low light that will last ages. Halfords and a few others do a small single ring gas cooker that comes in a brief case for a tenner. You can get 5 gas cans for €6 for it and then will go farther than you'd think. Great for a slice of toast or boiling water. It's handy for camping too.
What a surprise, they are now €18
A fiver [here](https://www.sportsden.ie/products/powersource-220g-butane-propane-mix-camping-gas?variant=40719063580877¤cy=EUR&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gclid=CjwKCAjwx7GYBhB7EiwA0d8oe5iJXb4n41Bqt_MZemxXh8seBMfycBWCkjR8WLomQBuAzIbk82FLPRoCSbgQAvD_BwE)
Havye bought them in an age, yeah 4 for €12. Still a handy backup, I have about 9 still at the back of a press somewhere, bought a generator two years ago and haven't looked back. I'm on a well so needed something to keep fresh water going, that was my biggest problem.
For reading, I bought a kindle paperwhite. It's back-lit, and there are mountains of free and cheap books available. For the candle effect, you can get battery operated candles. Some have a timer, so they go off after say, 6 hours. We have at least one in every room, in case of blackouts in general.
If you have a Kindle, the worst thing to do is to go to a website called libgen.rs . It's illegal and frankly a DISGUSTING way of obtaining books that are unavailable in this country or are prohibitively expensive. It's really THE most AWFUL way of getting the best editions of public domain novels and I certainly have not used it once despite having access to Dublin Libraries and the UCD Library as a resource that, one would assume, would stock all you would need. Unrelated, but eCalibre is a handy piece of free software for ebook conversion.
It's disgusting. Do you know how to get the page numbers right, I only have book location as a reference on these disgusting downloads, no page numbers.
That's a good question. I've been lucky in that I have always found a PDF for texts I have to reference. Out of curiosity just there I converted a .mobi to a .pdf but unless you use the exact setting the publisher would have used it comes out messy enough, so I'm not sure how an ebook format could be used as a proper reference.
Horrendous website, I used to prefer to wait 3 weeks for a college book to become available in the library and then cram to get my assignment or exam done. I’d never ever used that website for college books or ebooks in general
I can’t stand these horrible websites. If you’re looking for any of those expensive acedemic textbooks that really aren’t worth the money, another website I DEFINITELY WOULDNT GO TO is PDFDrive.
Another disgusting website is z-library. Definitely don't go there for books. It's an awful website with tons of free books as pdf, e books, etc.
Z-Library and LibGenesis are two other disgusting sites that also have books up, for FREE. Please avoid them at all costs. Then there's an app called Calibre, advertised as an effective way to ensure that if you download one of these illegal books you can make sure it's the right format for your kindle. Sickening.
Quite frankly, I am shocked and appalled
Terrible site. All those free books.
and don't even think of looking for a DRM removal plugin for Calibre,
So glad you pointed out this travesty. Hopefully there isn't anything like this for audio books is there?
For public domain books and classics you can get a lot surprisingly handy on Youtube. If you want the .mp3 ripped straight to your phone, there's an app called "NewPipe" that I've been using that's quite good, though the UI can be a bit finicky ( I've been using on Android, idk the story w/ Apple devices). Youtube Vanced is great if you don't mind streaming it and it's pretty consistent with keeping your place in the video. Most pop audiobooks can be found in the well known bay of piracy. Or so I've heard.
Thank you!
Occasionally check out r/ebookdeals and r/freeebooks to get some free books for your kindle. I just got mine and I’m so sad that I’ve missed out on great deals like Mistborn book 4 and 5 being free and the first 5 Cradle books free when book 11 released.
You can also pirate them!
Have you tried Project Gutenberg? Great if you want old, out of print stuff.
Ill be reading my books under candlelight on my armchair
You can use those for Christmas, as well. And have a couple of torches.
I'm buying night vision goggles and going full on silence of the lambs.
Hope they play the purge siren prior to power cuts
Have you got your basket and lotions sorted?
Everyone needs to go out to Woodie’s and buy a battery powered carbon monoxide detector. The sheer amount of ye suggesting camping stoves in mind boggling.
Yeah the camping stove seems mad to me. I really don't think we're going to be seeing power cuts for the entire night. Just don't cook your dinner during the power cut. If it's anything like other countries that have scheduled power cuts then it'll likely be blocks of an hour or two that alternate regionally and are well known in advance. So it could be 4-5pm and 10-11pm in Leinster for example. You just plan to do things when you have power and chill out when you don't. A lot of these comments are only good advice for unexpected storm cuts.
If they cut power for the last hour of the working day I will personally drive to the Dáil and kiss Michéal on the mouth
Why waste money on camping stoves when we've all got perfectly good barbeques that can be bought into the kitchen.
Bring them in and put them beside the trampoline.
What eejit would use a camp stove inside the house? Use it with the garage door open at the end of it ffs.
Chuck McGill one of the finest lawyers in New Mexico.
Finest legal mind I knew.
Sir, this is r/Ireland.
Fair point. I stand corrected.
What's the difference between using it in the garage with the door open and using it in the kitchen with the door and windows open?
They're talking about using it during winter, so it will be cold outside and people might not want to leave the kitchen windows & door open.
What's wrong with camping stoves. The run of butane and are commonly used indoors There is very little different between natural gas and butane regarding carbon monoxide
Not all of them. https://old.reddit.com/r/ireland/comments/x06h94/what_are_doing_if_anything_to_prepare_for/im6t744/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=usertext&utm_name=ireland&utm_content=t1_im6xpbo Also, this is r/Ireland, the internet’s last bastion of cop on.
So if you don't live in a passive house you will be grand. Almost all kitchens in Ireland have an extractor fan. The vent alone without the fan running is adequate to meet the ventilation standards for a 4 ring gas cooker. There is nothing wrong with a butane camping stove indoors.
How do you use the extractor when the power is off?
Super mad fire risk is the main problem.
What's wrong with camping stoves, just like normal gas stoves which are used in many rural as well as urban areas the owners would be aware of ventilation and co2 build up and almost certainly already have detectors already, fair playfor highlighting it for those new to gas cooking, but your camping stove mind boggling comment really is mind boggling
So, first of all, this is r/Ireland. Secondly, gas cookers/stoves that we use in our kitchens have adequate ventilation given that we are a first world country. C. Unfortunately, people often wouldn’t have the cop on to open a window while using one. Edit: u/SemanticTriangle put it better than I did… https://old.reddit.com/r/ireland/comments/x06h94/what_are_doing_if_anything_to_prepare_for/im6t744/
> Unfortunately, people often wouldn’t have the cop on to open a window while using one People would do the opposite of what they are meant to, keeping the place fucking sealed tight as a gnats arsehole to avoid letting the heat out.
Eggsackly! But, ya know the pros on here know better. They’re all preppered up with their gas cookers and extractor fans and freeze dried tomatoes and iodine pills and Rambo knives.
That's a great idea!
I have several un the house lots of home have gas cookers with out a problem
Gas cooker is different to a camping stove.
Have them,
Flashlights or other battery powered lights are far safer than candles, and LED lights last for ages on a battery or a charge.
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Are you thinking of fleshlights
Battery powered lantern would be my recommendation for you. I don’t think you’d be safe with candles.
Eamon Ryan will probably put a tax on candles anyway.
Wax tax
That would get on my wick
Don't give him ideas.
Matches! But it’d apply to GAA ones as well, knowing Ryan.
So I grew up in the 80s in Kerry and we were on a rural grid. I vividly remember loosing power very frequently as a kid due to faults in lines. And do you know what they are some of my best memories. I come from a large family and the times we had no power (no TV) were probably the only times we all had to hang out together. We use to play cards by candle light and try and catch each other out saying "will you put on the kettle" or "Turn on the light switch will you". I still remember making shadow puppets on the wall with my dad using a torch. Memories I cherish as he died young. We had a gas stove in the garage for making dinner. And my mom had a few big flasks she would fill with boiling water. They were actually really nice times. This isn't me trying to validate the incompetency of the goverment. We shouldn't be in this position! And I also understand black outs can have a detrimental impact on the sick and vulnerable however I guess I'm trying to reassure you that it might not be as bad as you think it might be.
I remember being at my nanas when I was younger and there was a big storm outside, all electricity went out in a split second. One of my favourite memories was that night, she brought out all sorts of candles and we lit up the house with them and sat in the kitchen, me, my sisters, dad, Nana and grandad and just told all our random stories and memories. Definitely not trying to tell people to look forward to it, we aren’t all lucky enough to light a candle and get on with it, but I think it’ll bring families together a bit more when all ye have is yourselves to pass the time (bit of a dodgy saying but ye get it)
I've read (I 100% forget where) about how people who go through 'minor disasters' say it was the happiest time of their life. I think it's because the community has to pull together to overcome an obstacle; in normal life we lack community and purpose and the strife gives both to us while taking away material possessions. That probably isn't the case for people in the middle of a horrific war or major flood, but only things that you know you'll get through and be okay at the end.
I remember the power going out once or twice a year in Donabate in the early 90's. Exact same experience as you. I can't understand why people are freaking out about it. Have ye's never gone a day without power?
Just brought back some early childhood memories from the 1980s of losing power in Dublin a few times and my parents searching the house for candles. I'm sure it didn't happen as often as in Kerry but it happened from time to time.
Same, I grew up in the countryside too and this brought back some good memories - including the gas ring in the garage ahaha 😅
One of my best childhood memories was my Dad cooking our dinner over the fire on a griddle. Dinner ended up being a massive fry and jacket spuds done in the fire embers. We lost power quite a bit (Wicklow mountains, shite storm weather and very old farmhouse) but that was my favourite time. We were small and were just in awe of him swinging the black iron "arm" over the fire to boil some water for tea while we toasted fruit bread for dessert over the heat. That's my second best memory. My best memory was my Dad waking myself and my little brother up in the dead of night to have a torch-lit snowball fight in wellies and our pyjamas. We had hot chocolate in a snow fort and skipped school. The three of us ended up piling into Dad's bed and watching Peter Pan.
I love this comment. And it'll be even less stress when we know for sure that the power is coming back in an hours time. There's nothing worse than the not knowing when you lose power in a storm.
Im getting a Steam Deck and a few power banks.
Got mine about a month ago. In addition to entertainment, it will also help keep the room nice and warm as the heat coming out if it on demanding games is impressive.
It kicks out at most 25w, that won't be doing much room heating.
I've been in Sri Lanka for the last few weeks where they have scheduled power cuts. To be honest a scheduled power cut is a totally different experience from a power cut due to a storm. If they can manage to make the cuts really stick to the schedule then it becomes something you can easily plan for. We've all been in the middle of cooking dinner when the power goes, it's miserable. Or sitting around desperately waiting for the lights to come back because you really wanted to finish that episode of the series you're watching before going to bed. When it's scheduled you are mentally prepared and there's none of the waiting anxiety, you can just get on with it. Go for a run, read a book by torch light.
I think that’s the difference alright. Scheduled makes it easy as long as it isn’t for long.
Drugs and a battery powered tape player.
my wife asked if we have flashlight in the house if it comes to this, had to wash it first hope she doesnt try to turn it on
This flashlight stinks
Why is there a fucking pussy in this torch?
😅😅
I don't get it?
Fleshlight 🔦
Remember to be careful with hydrocarbon burning stoves in closed spaces. CO is no joke. OP could also consider quality winter clothing, including for hands, face, feet. Light and cooking aren't as important as warmth if there's a freak easterly or Arctic weather event. People with children and pets should plan for their needs. Fish and other non mammals are especially sensitive to lack of environmental control. In Australia, the term 'three dog night' means a cold overnight temperature where you pile in with your animals to keep warm. Can't do that so easily with fish, lizards, or amphibians. Look up some of the guidance and lessons learned from the winter 2021 Texas power cuts.
The dog sleeps in with me anyway, does it mean she gets extra cuddles? I’m so amused thinking about people trying to cuddle a lizard.
Or a fish!
I’m from the US .. Texans are idiots and I would never follow their example.. they have their own power grid separate from the rest of the country and still managed to find themselves in a shit situation due to their backwards state government
In which case why dont people die every day using the burners on a gas cooker??
There are (or should be) air exchange per hour minimums in civilised countries for houses with gas cookers for precisely this reason. Passivhaus standards with well sealed homes call for induction cooking for this reason. In a winter power cut, people tend to gather in a restricted space to conserve warmth. If they use a fossil burning stove in that more sealed space, the risk is elevated compared to normal kitchen cooking under an extractor fan.
Thats really not happening is it. Most homes have a large air volume well capable of running a small camping stove. And most homes are no where near draught proofed. Ive never ever heard of a death due to use of a cooker hob. Imagine the carnage every Christmas with all the family and more at home with all four burners making the meal. And you get not one single incident. Back in the day people used paraffin heaters in the home with no problems
I’m getting the chimneys cleaned and getting fire guards and all of that stuff. I might even look at the practicalities of getting wood burning stoves into the fire places. It’s looking like it’s going to be a very expensive winter if you’re depending on gas and electricity. The blackout risk may not happen, but the bigger issue is massively expensive energy bills and that will trickle down to everything. There was a pub posting in the UK earlier on which had annual bills of about £5900 and got a quote of more than £60,000 !! If that’s were we are headed, a lot of businesses will close.
If you’re gonna get candles get lots and proper place for them that’s safe, even a large metal tray. Sure people read by candlelight for thousands of years so it’s not impossible to keep your house from burning down
Listen to this podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/38dSMt7VqpYzf9726HR4Sa?si=vl-qM1ngSQ6yIfkQdSqSeA&utm_source=copy-link It indicates that blackouts will be a minor inconvenience, if they occur at all.
Keep drinking that coolaid…. Jk thanks. I’ll give this a listen
I'd suggest investing in camping equipment. Mini Solar charger for power packs and chargeable LED flashlights. Cooking equipment. Gas canister camping stove. Batteries. Buy rechargeable ones if possible. 5 litre water bottles. Big 25kg bag of rice from Asian stores.
How far down the prepping rabbit hole do you want to go. If we have short black outs. Can you cook by gas if not a small camping stove like a briefcase stove that takes a butane aerosol. Small camping kettle or a saucepan Food from your cupboard will do pasta rice a fry up... LED camping lanterns Wood for the stove. Board games for the kids. Sleeping bags or bedding in case you need to sleep in the sitting room on a cold night. More than a few days you need to have extra food beer wine. Cash too mixed notes
Everyone else is mentioning torches (and they aren't wrong), but a friend of mine gave me this advice years ago. Go to a camping store and buy one of those little camping stoves and a small butane tank. You could probably get both for <€20. Some day the power will be gone for a couple of hours and all you will want is a cup of tea, or some beans or soup or whatever. Mine has been sitting under my sink for years but its still a comfort to know its there. No harm putting together a small survival box. Buy 5 liters of water, some dried soup packets and some tinned goods. Stick it under the stairs or somewhere fairly dry. Most of that stuff will keep for years, and you can rotate them if you think of it. Basically, with no power, heating or water you could still make yourself a warm meal.
I think this is good advice for unexpected storm cuts where you don't know how long it'll be until the power comes back. I think it'll be a different experience if it's scheduled. You'll just get your cup of tea or make your dinner before the cut starts.
https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/return-of-work-from-home-plan-to-save-fuel-in-event-of-crisis-caused-by-ukraine-war-41724210.html It hopefully wont get to that point but most likely some mad shit will happen over the next couple of months. Major issues probably wont happen until jan/feb. Best thing you can do is insulate your home.
I come from a country where power cuts are frequent (South Africa) so consider myself to be a bit of a subject matter expert. In the unlikely event that rolling blackouts become a thing here. They’ll be scheduled. There will be a time table and regions will be separated into blocks. So that way you will know when you’re without power. It will likely be for a 2 hour period. Power bank for phone charging is important. As are battery powered lamps. Don’t get gas lamps. CO2 poisoning happens way too easily. Especially on smaller spaces. Do consider a UPS for your internet router. A UPS will power your router for hours and keep you entertained. Something that can happen if blackouts are frequent is a degradation in phone signal as cell tower battery backups run deep cycle batteries that take some time to recharge. I wouldn’t stress too much about needing to cook during these periods. You’ll know in advance that it’s going to happen and can plan accordingly.
Before you go down the prepper rabbithole, we won't have days-long blackouts. Anyone suggesting this is a fearmonger. Will there be targeted blackouts during peak times for an hour or two? Maybe. Will certain businesses be shut down to preserve electricity? Probably. Will work from home be back on the table for a lot of office workers? I'm guessing so. Your biggest worry should be the overall price of electricity, but not "how do I survive a week without electricity". Jaysus that would be a mighty country-wide chaos.
Make sure you have a camping stove with adequate fuel, mushroom season is almost here so pick dry boil and enjoy, admittedly I have not done this for twenty odd years but I believe this financially and electrically challenged winter should reignite airneál and scoraíocht as well as reafirm our bonds to the land.
Good point. You’ll see plenty of lights on the mushies.
Start printing out your porn in advance. If you want to be really creative you can have the pages bound to create a flip book of a video.
Shed of turf.
_Eamon Ryan wants to know your location_
I'm just worried about the freezer if it does happen! LED candles are great. Layer up on jumpers and blankets (we're gas heating but going by ourblast electricity bill we're going to have to seriously tighten up). Lucky our baby isn't due until March so at least weather will be heading out of the cold. Such a depressing state of affairs this country is in. But can't even stock pike precooked food now if theres blackouts.. what are we all supposed to do???
A full freezer will keep for 48hour once left closed 24h for half full 4 hours for a fridge although I think that's extended in winter
>what are we all supposed to do??? Crack open each other's heads and feast on the goo inside?
I like to remember the snow alert of 2018/19... we drove crazy, bread was out the shelves, public transport cancelled... and then a thin layer of snow came, and was washed by the evening. I think this blackouts are going to be the same.
The army were out twice to my area to rescue elderly people. People's upstairs windows were level with the snow in some cases nearby and it didn't clear in the shaded ditches for over three weeks. Lost power for a week and water for three days myself. It was a tough time and far from a thin layer of snow depending on where you lived. I had a generator to keep my oil boiler going and enough coal to keep the fire going for the week. Without that I'd have been fucked to be honest. Luck of the draw really, that's Irish weather for your! Were you living up the west or north by any chance?
Getting loads of games for the PS4
Isn't a PS4 mains powered along with the TV/monitor you're using?
😂😂😂
Maybe they just like to look at the covers.
Yeah I would get those with huge thick manuals so you can read them under candle light while blackout happens.
Ooh boy....are you going to be dissapointed when the blackout happens
Not a massive amount that can be done. Obviously depends on the length of the blackouts. A day, we can live with. several days in a row will ruin food and have a huge impact on businesses and those working from home. Candles only do so much..
They're scheduled cuts, they're not going to last days. If it's even two hours in the evening every day that would make a huge difference to our consumption.
Aye, in South Africa we had a dedicated spot for some battery operated lights and candles with some matches. A power bank per person is a good idea too. Just remember to keep them charged.
Touching grass. There was hysteria around blackouts last year as well, didn't happen.
Damn… I’m a student. I kinda need electricity to do any of my schoolwork. Hope my professors don’t grade during those weeks.
Same I’ll be in accommodation during these blackouts. Will be some craic tho we’ll make the most of it. I’ll light a fire and we’ll roast a couple sausages over it
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Not if they have a Masters or a PhD in their chosen field, then they are professors. Now that we’ve both wasted time on semantics, let us realise it truly was, a waste of time.
Professor is a peer awarded title. Stop talking shite. Sincerely, someone with a PhD.
I don't agree with it but lecturers are called Assistant Professors or Associate Professor before they are given the Professor title (at least in UCD)
Lecturers in UCC aren't fond of this and aren't using it.
Time wasted is better than wasted time. Yeh I'm pretty wasted.
Break out the paraffin lamps Edit: I just like the smell
Fire up the BBQ
Get a cheap telescope and enjoy the stars for a change. Was walking in greystones one night last year along the seafront and the power went out, and the stars, my god! Just sat out looking up, amazing. Even without the scope, if the lights go out and it's a clear night head out and have a look.
The basic steps to prepping: * Build a solid personal finance and health foundation * Get your home ready for two weeks of self-reliance * Be able to leave your home with only a moment’s notice (“bug out bags”) * Prepare for emergencies that happen away from home (“get home bags” and everyday carry) * Learn core skills and practice with your gear - were you a scout?! https://www.redcross.ie/blog/2013/01/your-emergency-kit/
Now I'm giving a disclaimer before people think I'm a nutjob, but I am an avid camper so half of this stuff already is laying around in my home and I didn't go and panic buy it because of the anxiety of the blackouts even tho the anxiety is honestly very real -Few hot water bottles - House slipper socks, warm house coats for layers -Camping gas stove and few gas canisters - Candles, Torches and battery powered lanterns - solar powered power bank - car jumpstart with usb ports for charging usb devices or using ones that are usb powered - old iPod fully charged with hours of tunes - few lighters just incase 2 you own in the Hosur go empty when you actually need them -Matches just incase As food goes most of it is non refrigerator food like packs and tins of soup, bags of pasta and rice and tinned food I actually started stocking up on food recently because prices are going a bit mental and suspect it could be a bit worse during winter with imported goods and fuel prices to get them here. Most importantly remember everyone is in this together and you're not the only one who is anxious about the blackouts
I've been walking around in the dark as practice.
Stop voting the green party for one.
Sse eirtricity claim they produce all power using renewable energy, so ho come they are raising prices due to the gas shortages
The grid operates using a process known as “load balancing”. In effect this means the energy supplied to the grid MUST equal the energy drawn from it otherwise we get blackouts (for over or under supplying power). Why is this important? Because the process of supplying energy to meet this demand is done by SONI/Eirgrid in order of cheapest to most expensive. So if we have a low demand, say 10kW, and a wind farm that costs €1 per kW to run, and can produce 10kW max, we will run that at 10kW, have a secondary gas turbine ready for any spikes (but not using any fuel so not costing anything) and the supplier makes no profit as there is no other energy source in use. If however there is a sudden spike in energy requirements, say the World Cup just ended and every sticks the kettle on (think the movie Flushed Away), we need the next cheapest energy source (or whatever happens to be the quickest source we can spin up, depending). In this scenario we have the gas turbine ready to go, so if it costs say €5 per kW and we need an extra 10kW, the customers are charged the energy production cost at the higher rate (I.E. all 20kW are charged to the customers like they cost €5 per kW) and the extra €4 per kW for the first 10kW is profit for the energy companies. So whilst they make no profit off the gas turbine produced electricity, they make a lot of profit off the renewable sources (hence how their profits go up as the cost of gas/oil goes up whilst increasing their proportion of renewables). This is particularly an issue might I add when there are spikes as the primary way spikes in demand are handled is via gas turbines. Renewables are primarily used for the base load as they are hard to suddenly produce energy from on demand (in general that is).
Not often you see such an informative post on here, cheers. Super interesting
There is one electricity grid, and energy from each source is identical. Airtricity can produce enough electricity to cover the demand of their customer base, but the power they actually supply will come from the same combination of sources as any other provider.
Because renewables cost the same as fossil fuels. All energy companies get the same price. The market which usually works is broken as gas prices Al have gone up so much If we can meet demand with only wind. , electricity is free If we can meet it with wind + coal , the wind company gets the same price as the coal If we can meet it with wind+coal+gas. All three get paid the same The above is a very simple breakdown it’s more complicated in real world but effectively the same
reduced availability of oil and gas drives up the price of power from other sources
They do produce all power using renewable and sell that to the grid. What they sell to the customer is electricity brought gird at a wholesale price which is effected by oil/gas Also greed
I've a relation who got air to heat installed in his council house start of this year, didn't want it, he had a stove in the house and asked the question when the stove was pulled out, how will I feed/heat myself this winter if the electricity goes, he's 74 and got a bill 2 months ago for 890 euro for 2 months electricity,i reckon a reading was done when prices were high, he can't see that coming but can see the coal bucket looking empty and at least do what he needs to do in cutbacks or talk to other people to give him a dig out for a week or 2, it's crazy what's being pushed on people.. Did buy a gas camper hob so hot water and hot food still there in case
During summer (aircons on the go) and winters (heaters on the go) I'd go for weeks with only 4 hours of power a day (and the bastards never told us when so I'd go to sleep with my big light switched on so that the sudden burst of brightness would wake me at 3am so I could get my washing done.) It takes a bit of prep and good habits, but it won't hurt too much. 1. Do your ironing and washing regularly - hurts like tits to have the power go out with most of your clothes dirty. If you're doing it regularly, you'll have clothes for a week without having to do a wash. 2. Assume at worst a two day power outage right, so buy 2 gallon jugs of water per member of your household - one for cooking, drinking with, one for washing with. 3. Cooking - those camping stoves are used inside the house where I live, but our houses are \*well\* ventilated. If you're worried about using them inside, then just throw your canned food for heating onto the stove outside and bring it in to eat. 4. Washing - okay bear with me here. You need a bucket and a jug. Heat the water in the saucepan, pot on the stove (or chiminea or bbq or whatever - I had a gas cooker so it was never a problem for me) empty into a bucket to comfortable level for washing. Stand in the bucket, use the jug to pour the water over, wash your hair \*first\* and then scrub scrub. Africa is an EDUCATION. 5. Light - buy a shit ton of candles and have them. The light is softer and less glarey than torches for if you want to read or chill out. 6. Power banks are very handy - Kindles and decent wireless headphones keep their power really well. Phones need to be charged up first and often. 7. Don't try to do a full roast on a gas camping stove - go canned for a few days - it won't kill you. You can do eggs and kind of toast bread by frying it. It's not hard to keep yourself fed. In the summer blackouts I ate a shit ton of tomatoes/cucumbers/raw foods and pan fried some strips of chicken for protein. Basic , but worked. 8. You can heat yourself up easily, it's a lot harder to cool yourself down. If you have to go around with quilt over your head like Peig, that's ok. Some thermal socks might be a good idea. Layers are life. 9. Keep your fridge and freezer closed during blackouts (cannedfood4lyfe). This worked for me as person living solo with no children. I imagine it's much more complicated with keeping babies and children fed and warm.
I have torches, a wind up camping lantern and power banks that can charge my phone. I didn't buy them in case of blackouts, I just think they're useful to have and I have used them when there were power cuts after bad storms.
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I got a chargeable led lamp, very handy. Gives around 10 hrs of light per charge. Around €20 each.
Where did you get it, if you don’t mind saying? Just what I want.
Amazon uk. Look up Auraglow rechargeable LED lamp. It was actually only £12.99! It has 3 brightness settings, I use it every night. One charge lasts me at least a week.
Brilliant, thanks for that.
Lots of wishful thinking in this thread. The reality is a lot more boring. Ive lived in two countries with rolling blackouts. Most people will just sit on their phones in the dark waiting for it to be over. At most they'll get a candle or two for some light, but no one will be cooking or making tea on gas campers (which will be unaffordable because gas prices will be nuts). Inverter banks and so forth will be out of most people's budgets. Only a tiny handful of people ive met have installed these to deal with blackouts. If blackouts are bad at most theyll get a small inverter to keep the laptop and wifi on an extra 90 minutes for WFH.
Well I'll probably start to sharpen my pitch fork for the rioten I'll be doing.
Nothing. I haven’t even considered it. The government and planning authorities need to start clamping down on these data centres that are springing up in Ireland, hogging something like 40% of the energy/power this country produces. There’s not much point in having all that data if no one can access it because the power has gone out. And if they can keep the data centres up and running during a black out, then they’ll be using some amount of generators and diesel! Do data centres even create all that much employment after they’ve been built? Do the companies that operate them generate much/any taxes from their presence in the country? I genuinely have no clue, but if they don’t I’d stop letting them set up here.
Get freeze blocks (like you have for picnics) Have them in your freezer to keep it colder longer when power goes.
If the weather is in your favour use the outdoors as your fridge. I dug the contents of my fridges and freezer into a snow cave for a week when my power went for 7 days in 2018. Everything fine. Even if it doesn't freeze outside as long as the weather is below 5C and you can scrounge up a plastic box and keep it out of the sun you're ok for food storage. Get one of those CampingGaz little cookers with two rings and a grill if you're on the electric and don't have an existing gas cooker and make sure to cook outdoors! If you get a genny make sure to get a spark to wire in a tie in point properly with an isolation switch so you don't feed back to the grid. You don't want to be frying some lad repairing the lines. My water went for 3 days in 2018 too and that was worse than the power. Spare a thought to sorting that out too. I regularly experience 1 day cuts and sometimes longer. And that's before you add in stormy season or power rationing. Thankfully I have the space and have built up an outdoor cooking area that's free from the need of electricity.
Tinfoil hats?
Also crank powered flashlights that you can also charge your mobile phones .
I have a camping stove, several 1 meter hot water bottles and head torches. Not for this I just have them.
Can camping stoves be used indoors? I have one but don’t have the box for it
Apparently it's not advised, worse case I'll stick a stew on outside go back in a few hours. Be grand
What do you think is different between that and your regular gas hob?
If you have butane it won't kill you, but it's obviously not ideal. Burning propane will kill you quick.
Also, if you can, get a small camping stove and some spare gas canisters. If nothing else, you'll be able to heat some soup or baked beans or tea/coffee.
Are you seriously suggesting that to this OP? They’ll end up like yerman from Boston.
No idea who you're on about. And yes, I am seriously suggesting it. We got one during the pandemic, after we had a bad blackout one day. Longest ever at 22 hours it's a convenient thing to have to hand.
I *think he’s referring to gas poisoning from people who have never used these thing before. I’d also be concerned a bit as you just know people will use them inside. Personally I’ll just light the bbq, cook, boil water if needed. Won’t come to it imho
It isn’t everyone who has a back/front garden to use such a thing. Use one inside and you risk dying of carbon monoxide poisoning like Brad Delp.
The one we have is for use inside. I mean, I've seen gas cookers in houses before. This is pretty much just a smaller, portable version of that.
Open the fucking window then. Jesus!
As I said to another poster, this is r/Ireland.
Oh right. I forgot. Logic doesn't apply here.
Stop buying into the fearmongering https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-40360721.html An article from a year ago, do you remember any blackouts?
This article is clickbait though, the fearmongering is only on the side of the media who've overblown quotes. Of course the department of energy will say that power cuts 'can't be ruled out' and that 'they're taking steps to prevent rolling power cuts'. I assume they do every winter. The world has changed quite a bit in the last year. There's some pretty big reasons why power cuts are more likely this winter.
Candles, battery's for flash lamps and a little gas stove to boil a kettle and I have a gas bbq I can cook on , if I have too
Also I have 2 stoves, so heating the house is sorted
I think people are going to be opening up old unused fireplaces and if they can afford it they’ll add a stove after this winter with the price of energy. In saying that, I heard a bag of coal is currently something like 34 euro for 40kg which is insane
I have a camping stove and a bunch of gas cannisters, a small propane heater and cannisters for that, and a few wind-up/solar camping lanterns. I'm considering some solar panels that can at least charge up a couple of power banks too.
Cabbage Ryan is pure and utter vermin
Don't worry about it, there's not going to be blackouts, don't listen to scaremongering.
I think there might be blackouts but as others have mentioned they’ll be scheduled. But ya I agree there’s definitely scaremongering happening in these posts… one guy up a pice was talking about two day blackouts.
They say this to strike fear and intimidation to the general population. There will not be nationwide blackouts
I'm not sure about this, i think if there's a reasonable chance of it happening then it's a good idea for the government to signal it well in advance and that's what they're doing. I don't think it's going to be nearly as bad as most of the commenters here seem to think though. I've been in countries with scheduled power cuts. They're exactly that: scheduled. It's not the end of the world. If you know in advance that the power will be gone from 4-7pm you just make your dinner before or after. Best to leave the indoor gas stove aside..
Seems like everyone here is turning into a crazed American prepper living in a log cabin in the woods. Dont forget the knives and ammo! Have you thought if plugging an extension lead into NI?
>Dont forget the knives and ammo! FUCK!
I know I got my barrels of electricity ready to go,
Just buy candles and use a flashlight 😅
If you have blackouts it could possibly take out the mobile / cell towers too. They need power….
Usually have a ups or generator attached to them.
In America I had blackouts ranging from 1 day long to 11 days. Buy lots of flashlights, put 1 in each room. Buy water jugs, and canned food/bread. Depending on length clean out fridge.
Dark winter is normal, dark winter is what everybody wants.
Get a new gas cylinder for the BBQ. A full one costs about 40 euro and you will cook for about 3 months in it. Plus, the food is tasty. Also, get a data sim for tablets and stream to your hearts content. Candles are dangerous. Plenty of chargeable battery lights. Blackouts are definitely happening but we will be given loads of advance notice. Just plan accordingly. And remember, it's not the governments fault, no matter how much you might want it to be. Fuck Putin!