If the recent power cuts have you wondering whether you finally need to consider getting a back-up generator for your house in the UK, here’s everything else you might want to consider for panic-free power cuts.
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Make a Power Cut Kit
Assemble everything you need together in one kit so you’re not madly searching through different drawers and cupboards to find torches, batteries or matches. Put it all in a plastic box or rucksack and make sure everyone knows where it is.
You’ll find some further ideas below on what should be in that kit, but here’s some quick suggestions:
- List of emergency numbers (including your energy provider)
- Battery-powered or hand-crank radio
- Torches
- Batteries
- Essential medicines, if needed
- Canned food
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Keep devices charged
It’s not always possible to predict a power cut but if you know a storm is on the way then make sure you keep you key devices charged. You’ll need your mobile phone to stay in touch with your energy provider! Whilst you may lose your Wi-Fi, a charged-up Kindle will keep you occupied for quite some time.
Why not pop some movies on a USB stick and you can gather together and watch them until your laptop battery gives up?
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Let There Be Light
You might think of candles and matches when you remember the power cuts of your childhood, but these days they aren’t the safest option if there are children and pets in the house.
When it starts to get dark, opt for battery-powered torches when moving between rooms and think about a solar or battery-powered lamp that can be placed in the middle of the room to provide ambient light.
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Food supplies
If your power cut is going to take some time to fix then food is a top priority. Use up anything that’s in the refrigerator before it starts to wilt or turn bad. Use a food thermometer to check whether meat or milk is still cold enough to safely store in the fridge.
You might want to keep a camping stove in your Power Cut Kit and warm up easy tinned food such as soups or beans.
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Staying warm
If the power cut affects your heating then bring everyone together in one room (including pets) and gather up blankets. This will create more body heat, but also provide comfort for children who may not have experienced an outage before.
If you have an open fire then light it as the temperature starts to drop. Keeping a stock of firewood ready will make sure you’re not left in the cold.
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Fight the boredom
Another idea for your Power Cut Kit is activity packs for both adults and children. If your devices are out of battery and boredom has set in, family games can lift the mood. Bring out the cards, Sudoku, magazines or a fresh colouring book with pencils to keep little minds occupied.
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Consider a portable generator
To avoid all of the above and continue as normal through an energy outage, think about opting for a power cut generator.
If you’re asking, “what size generator do I need to back-up my house?”, use our Wattage Calculator to decide your perfect back-up generator by usage and then head to our collection of portable generators!
It’s time to put the power back into power cut.