Keeping Warm during planned powercuts?

[Inca]

I have invested in cashmere things - fingerless gloves and wristwarmers (absolutely fantastic, I always have cold hands that hurt for about 10 months of the year, so these stop that happening, and let my fingers go free to type or do stuff!), a cashmere beanie hat and cardigan. For my feet, I love alpaca/wool mix socks, so snuggly and cosy! I often wear a 'buff' type scarf to go round my neck otherwise it feels draughty. I also have some leg-warmers to cover that ankle gap.

If we do have rolling blackouts, I will prepare a thermos filled with tea beforehand so I can have a hot drink or two. I have also ordered another flask that will hold food, so I can have something hot if the blackout is at meal time.

I have battery powered motion sensor lights placed at various points round the house so if it's dark there will be some light available so I don't fall down the stairs or trip over the cat! Also a bright powerbank light.

Obviously keep your freezer and fridge closed. If it's really cold then I will get under the duvet and stay put there, with a hot water bottle (and hopefully a cat - although he is very young and not yet interested in languishing indoors)!

I might have to try cashmere my hands are always freezing out with dog on scooter as I can't have them in pockets as need one driving scooter and dog lead in the other. I wear touchscreen gloved then fingerless gloves with mitten end. That way if I need to use phone I don't have to take gloves off completely just unbutton the mitten end on one hand briefly.

I had seen some 'heat holders' gloves though made by the same company who makes the socks,I was gonna look for a pair of them but nowwondering if Cashmere or Alpaca would be warmer?

 

[Inca]

Having something to eat is a good way of warming up a bit.

Yeah I'm planning to either eat at lunch time or do a stew or something in a slow cooker then transfer it to an hay box to keep warm, maybe one portion already seperated into a thermos food flask and also packed in the hay box with some flasks of just boiling water (for refilling hot water bottles) and one with hot chocolate.

It's just keeping myself warm for long enough with now very limited mobility especially if they do double blackouts turning it back off again in early hours at coldest temps

 

[Wishful]

I hope the authorities are providing some advice on how to deal with blackouts. Turning power back on for a whole city or even larger area is a huge stress on the system. It would be much less likely to cause a longer blackout (blown transformers, generators, etc) if people were properly advised to unplug or switch off certain types of equipment in advance, and not turn them all back on at once.

I'm guessing that Europeans have had high energy prices for a long time. Is energy efficiency prevalent there? Houses well-insulated, LED lighting, etc? Energy prices have been kept artificially low here in NA, so I think many houses are still being built with minimal insulation.

The Alberta government announced some 'inflation measures' a while back, which was mostly cutting taxes on fuel. I actually made the effort to send my representative an email saying that was a very anti-environmental choice. When you make fuel cheap, people make fuel-inefficient choices.

Back to the thread question, I find that a meal of greasy meat makes me warm up a lot in the middle of the night; so much so that I have to remove a couple of layers of blankets/quilts. So, if you can time it right, you can be nice and warm during the scheduled cold period.

 

[BrightCandle]

Advice on blackouts? In the UK its all been leaks of the plans with the government denying its going to happen. Each leak is increasingly concerning, the first was maybe 3 hour blackouts in the evening with 24 hour notice, that has turned into 2x3 hour blackouts with similar notice. The entire intent is to never withdraw gas since returning the gas on requires a visit to every home so its the electricity that will get cut since half of the power comes from burning gas. We are not getting any advice on anything.

Energy efficiency is definitely a thing and we have plenty of Wind power. Houses are not insulated well, a lot of the UKs housing is quite old, from the 1900s and up until the 1970s they really aren't designed well for modern insulation. Double glazing is common as is loft insulation but the wall cavities are typically open at the top to deal with the damp (its WET in the Uk you may have heard how famous it is for rain!) so there is a big problem with damp and sealing houses is a big problem, the more you insulate the more damp you trap. The UK is a rich country with a poor populace so many people can not afford to insulate their homes further especially things like floor insulation and heating based on how the houses are design. There have been protests about this over the past couple of years.

Adoption of efficient lighting has been mandated for a while and most houses are heated by gas boilers but flats are often electric only. Energy prices are a bit nuts at the moment, 35p/kwh for electricity 10.3p / kwh for gas. They were half that before the war which means they have typically been about double that of the USA historically, its produced more expensively with less greenhouse gas emissions than the USA since most of the EU countries have been complying with their treaty commitments for net zero to avoid climate change, missing their targets but still making progress whereas of course as you know the USA famously pulled out of Kyoto in the 1980s and again the Paris Accord. Its not a universal problem, Germany and the UK are more exposed than other EU nations, many have transitioned to green fuel, France has an excess of power with it all being Nuclear and various Scandinavian countries run almost entirely on wind/thermal/solar. Its a real mix and the UK has just been badly managed and the government of the last decade has been funded by the oil industry and have slowed down adoption of fuel independence.

 

[Jadzhia]

I hope the authorities are providing some advice on how to deal with blackouts. Turning power back on for a whole city or even larger area is a huge stress on the system. It would be much less likely to cause a longer blackout (blown transformers, generators, etc) if people were properly advised to unplug or switch off certain types of equipment in advance, and not turn them all back on at once.

At the moment the govt is saying that blackouts are 'extremely unlikely'. The National electricity boss says they are 'highly unlikely'. However he did say that if we get very cold weather then planned blackouts could happen. So not a lot of guidance/advice there! As usual, the common people are having to fill in the blanks and figure out how they would cope.

There is, however, a detailed plan for how electricity switch offs are managed. Each area is divided up into small regions, we all have a code for our area shown on our energy bill, a letter of the alphabet. This code is used to determine which 3 hour slot of the day and which day of the week your power would be turned off. So no whole cities turned off at once, that would be madness. If they follow that plan, then there shouldn't be issues with turning power back on and the subsequent surge (she said hopefully!).

I'm guessing that Europeans have had high energy prices for a long time. Is energy efficiency prevalent there? Houses well-insulated, LED lighting, etc? Energy prices have been kept artificially low here in NA, so I think many houses are still being built with minimal insulation.

This year the gas/electricity prices have soared. Many of our houses are old and not well insulated. For example, we live in a 150 yr old brick house with a cavity wall extension kitchen. We'd need to get outer cladding put on and cavity wall insulation for the kitchen. Our hilly location and narrow road access makes the latter difficult., plus I am concerned about increasing damp indoors, it's already a house with mould in places. We do use LED lighting, have done for quite some time. Energy efficiency of appliances has been talked about and promoted for a long time now.

 

[Nord Wolf]

Also I remember @Nord Wolf talking about how to survive the elements in one of his blog posts and he mentioned wool as one of the things to wear.

Here is my old blog post:
https://forums.phoenixrising.me/blog-articles/dressing-right-for-winter.2995/

 

[Pearshaped]

are there any devices like Handwaemees which runs wirh battery ?

 

[Wishful]

are there any devices like Handwaemees which runs wirh battery ?

Just check Amazon: many pages of electric gloves, either with batteries or USB connectors. I'm not sure there are any types of clothing not available with heating wires. Maybe lingerie? Then again, I suppose some like it hot.

 

[Judee]

@Inca, I just read how the new UK government there is planning to slash winter energy benefits for around 10 million pensioners.

Will this affect you?

 

[Inca]

@Inca, I just read how the new UK government there is planning to slash winter energy benefits for around 10 million pensioners.

Will this affect you?

well I'm not at pension age yet but the means tested benefits they are saying you can still get it ..the new govt are changing criteria for eligibility criteria and levels of payment. Those with milder disabilities may get cut off compeletely if they increase the points you need to qualify, but I've had quite severe lvels of disability for many years now

The disability one they are planning to change cash to get stuff like equipment for vouchers instead so whereas I could save some if I didn't need a new wheelchair or scooter and use that money for heating bills or other stuff .... I won't have that 'spare cash' and 'breathing room' for other unexpected expenses such as vet bills.

The work related one (for people unable to work) they are transferring people off that onto the newer one called Universal Credit. however its not a straight transfer ...they just send you a letter saying you have a couple of months to apply for the new one after which your current money will stop....there's no guarantee you'll get it first time or get the same amount....this is done deliberately for them to save more money by just shaving some off many people's money.

I'll just have to hope I'm one of the last to be transferred so it's another year or so I can make sure I have replaced anything expensive such new scooter and managed to put some aside to cover fuel bills for winter. I need to replace my oven too that hasn't worked for about 7 months now,, been just using a small air fryer and the microwave.